WITHOUT PREJUDICE AND SUBJECT TO CONTRACT
Important jurisdiction and formalities warning
This fictional letter is a general example of a proposed employment settlement communication. It is not legal advice, does not guarantee without-prejudice protection, and is not universally effective. Whether privilege applies depends on the jurisdiction, the existence of a genuine dispute, the wording and the surrounding conduct. Mandatory conciliation, tribunal rules, statutory approval, tax treatment and formal settlement requirements must be checked before sending or accepting an offer.
Date and recipient
21 October 2026
To Mr Lewis Hart, 9 Tern Close, Sheffield S11 8QA
From Crescent Field Services Limited, 27 Copper Street, Sheffield S3 8NP
Dear Mr Hart,
1. Purpose of this offer
We write about your employment as Operations Supervisor, which began on 7 February 2022 and ended on 30 September 2026. You contend that termination was unfair and that commission and holiday pay are due. Crescent Field Services Limited (the Company) disputes those contentions but wishes to explore a sensible resolution.
This offer is made genuinely to resolve a dispute and is subject to contract. It is not an admission, a representation about the merits, or a waiver of any defence. The parties should obtain independent advice before deciding whether to accept it.
2. Financial offer
The Company offers to pay £14,800 gross in full and final settlement of the claims and matters identified in this letter and the settlement agreement to follow. The amount includes any compensation for alleged unfair dismissal, discrimination, breach of contract, notice, commission, holiday pay or other employment-related loss that can lawfully be settled, but does not include sums that must be paid separately as accrued wages or statutory entitlements.
In addition, the Company will pay your reasonable legal costs of up to £1,500 plus applicable tax, payable directly to your adviser against an invoice addressed to you. Each side will otherwise bear its own costs. The Company will process deductions and reporting required by tax or social security law and makes no promise about the tax result for you. You should obtain personal tax advice.
3. Proposed payment and documentation
If accepted, the parties will sign a written settlement agreement in a form reasonably consistent with this offer. The agreement will identify the claims being settled, preserve claims that cannot legally be waived, include the required independent-advice confirmation, and state the payment schedule. Subject to receipt of the signed agreement and adviser certificate, the Company will pay the settlement amount within 14 days after the later of the agreement becoming effective and 15 November 2026.
The Company will separately pay salary and any undisputed accrued holiday or approved expense that is properly due through the termination date, subject to normal payroll deductions. If the parties disagree about an item, payment of an undisputed amount will not by itself resolve the remaining dispute unless the final agreement says so.
4. Reference and announcement
At your request, the Company will provide a factual reference stating your position, employment dates and that employment ended by mutual agreement following discussions. The reference will be supplied in the agreed form and subject to lawful verification procedures. The parties may tell immediate family, professional advisers, tax authorities, insurers and healthcare professionals about the settlement. To colleagues and customers, each side will use the neutral statement that you have left the Company and both parties wish each other well.
Neither side will knowingly publish a false or malicious statement about the other. These proposed terms do not prevent a lawful report to a regulator, cooperation with an investigation, protected disclosure, discussion with a legal adviser, or another communication that cannot legally be restricted.
5. Confidentiality
The proposed agreement will contain reasonable confidentiality terms about the offer, negotiations and final settlement. Those terms will include customary exceptions for legal and financial advice, immediate family, medical care, tax compliance, court or tribunal requirements, regulators, law enforcement and rights that mandatory law protects. The Company will not ask you to conceal unlawful conduct or prevent a protected report.
The parties should limit circulation to advisers and people considering the offer; the heading alone does not determine legal status.
6. Response and expiry
This offer remains open for acceptance by 4:00 p.m. on 4 November 2026. Acceptance must be sent by email and tracked post to Maya Singh, Head of People, Crescent Field Services Limited, 27 Copper Street, Sheffield S3 8NP. If no acceptance is received by that deadline, the Company may withdraw or revise the offer. The Company may also withdraw it if you make a counteroffer or commence a step inconsistent with resolving the dispute, subject to any applicable procedural rules.
A request for more time does not extend the deadline unless confirmed in writing. No settlement is concluded by silence, discussion, payment of an undisputed amount or receipt of this letter; a binding settlement requires the legally effective written process required locally.
7. Proposed full and final terms
The final agreement would include mutual releases limited to the identified employment matters and lawful claims, a statement that neither party admits wrongdoing, arrangements for return or deletion of Company property and information, the agreed reference, payment and tax wording, and provisions dealing with breach. It would not release rights arising after signature or rights that the law does not permit to be released.
The proposed agreement would be governed by the law of England and Wales, subject to mandatory employment protections, statutory conciliation requirements and the jurisdiction of any tribunal or court that cannot lawfully be excluded. A local employment adviser should confirm whether a settlement agreement, tribunal form, adviser certificate, witness or other formality is required.
Yours faithfully,
For Crescent Field Services Limited
Name: Maya Singh, Head of People
Signature: ____________________ Date: 21 October 2026
Acknowledgement of receipt, not acceptance
I, Lewis Hart, acknowledge receipt of this without-prejudice offer. This acknowledgement does not accept the offer or create a settlement.
Signature: ____________________ Date: ____________________