exitagreementWho pays the solicitor?
They normally name a contribution inside the agreement and pay it to the firm directly. It is a convention, not an entitlement. Acas says an employer “should consider” paying for the advice and, in the same paragraph, that “they do not have to do this”.
Key points
- The employer has a reason to pay: without the independent advice condition in s.203(3)(c), their agreement does not stop you claiming.
- Published fixed fees for a straightforward sign-off, from our own reading of firms’ price pages in September 2026, ran from about £350 to £750 plus VAT.
- Ask for the fee to be capped at the employer’s contribution, in writing, before you instruct.
- A contribution buys the sign-off. It does not normally buy a negotiation, and that is a different conversation to have on day one rather than day ten.
- VAT is almost always on top, and it is the usual reason a quote and an invoice disagree.
Why the employer pays at all
It looks like generosity and it is not. It is the price of the thing they are buying.
A settlement agreement is worthless to an employer unless it actually prevents a claim, and it only does that if all six conditions in s.203(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 are satisfied. One of those conditions is that you received advice from a relevant independent adviser on the terms and effect of the agreement. If you never take that advice, the waiver fails and the employer has paid for nothing.
So the contribution is not a favour, it is the employer removing the most obvious obstacle to their own document working. Understanding that changes how the conversation feels, and it is why asking for a contribution — or for a larger one — is a normal request rather than a cheeky one.
What Acas actually says
Precisely this: the employer should consider offering to pay the cost of any independent advice, and they do not have to do this. Both halves are load-bearing.
Plenty of sites in this market write “your employer pays — it costs you nothing” as a flat promise. It is a good headline and it is not true. Most of the time it is what happens. It is not a right, there is no statute behind it, and if you are made a redundancy offer with no contribution named, you have not been wronged — you have been given a worse offer, which is a different problem with a different answer.
What it costs
Very few firms publish a figure. That is odd, because for this particular job the work is predictable: read a document of known length, advise on it, sign a certificate. It is close to the ideal fixed-fee instruction, and the firms that do publish a price treat it that way.
| Work | What it involves | Typical basis |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-off | Reading the agreement, advising you on its terms and effect, explaining what you are giving up, signing the adviser’s certificate so the agreement satisfies s.203(3)(e) | Fixed fee, commonly £350–£750 plus VAT on published price pages |
| Amendments | Correcting the agreement where it misstates your notice, your holiday or your bonus entitlement, or where the tax wording is wrong | Sometimes inside the fixed fee, sometimes an extra charge |
| Negotiation | Arguing the figure, the reference, the covenants or the announcement | Hourly, a separate fixed fee, or a percentage of any increase |
Price range: our own reading of the published fee pages of UK firms advertising for settlement agreement work, September 2026. It is a survey of published prices, not a market average, and it is not a quote from anyone.
The three questions to ask before you instruct
- “Will you cap your fee at my employer’s contribution?” This is the single most useful sentence in the whole process. Firms that do this work in volume frequently agree, because the work is predictable. Get the answer in the client care letter.
- “Is that inclusive or exclusive of VAT?” A contribution of “£500 plus VAT” and a contribution of “£500 including VAT” are different offers, and the second one is worth about £100 less.
- “What happens if I do not sign?” Many employer contributions are payable only on completion. If the agreement does not complete, somebody still has to pay for the advice, and you want to know in advance whether that is you.
Want a firm that will cap the fee at the contribution?
Send your postcode and the amount your employer has offered. Firms advertising for your area can tell you whether it covers their fixed fee.
If no contribution is offered
It happens, and it is not a dead end. Four routes, in the order most people should try them.
- Ask. A written request that points out the agreement requires independent advice to be valid is a short email and it is usually enough. The employer’s own adviser will already have told them this.
- Check your union. A certified trade union officer can be the relevant independent adviser under s.203(3A)(b), and for members this is usually free.
- Check an advice centre. A certified advice centre worker also qualifies, under s.203(3A)(c), provided the centre has certified them in writing as competent and authorised.
- Pay for it. On a fixed fee for a sign-off this is a known, bounded cost, and it is frequently much smaller than the error it prevents.
Who can and cannot advise you, in the statute’s own words:
A person is a relevant independent adviser for the purposes of subsection (3)(c)— (a) if he is a qualified lawyer, (b) if he is an officer, official, employee or member of an independent trade union who has been certified in writing by the trade union as competent to give advice and as authorised to do so on behalf of the trade union, (c) if he works at an advice centre (whether as an employee or a volunteer) and has been certified in writing by the centre as competent to give advice and as authorised to do so on behalf of the centre … But a person is not a relevant independent adviser … if he is, is employed by or is acting in the matter for the employer or an associated employer.Read the section on legislation.gov.uk
The exclusion at the end is the part to hold on to. An adviser who is employed by, or acting in the matter for, your employer or an associated employer is not a relevant independent adviser, full stop. An employer suggesting a firm they have used before is common and is not improper in itself — but it is your choice, and the independence requirement does not bend.
Nothing, ever. Firms pay us a fixed amount per enquiry, agreed before any enquiry is sent. It does not change with the size of your settlement, with whether you instruct anyone, or with what a firm bills. We therefore have no reason to send you to the firm that charges most — or least. The full arrangement is in the disclaimer linked at the foot of this page.
What the fee does not buy
Two things people reasonably expect and do not always get.
An opinion on whether the deal is good. The statutory requirement is advice on the terms and effect of the agreement — what it says and what it does to your rights. Whether the number is fair is a different question that requires someone to form a view on your claim. Most firms will give you a steer; few will do the analysis inside a sign-off fee. Say which one you want when you book.
Time. A fixed fee is priced for an appointment. If your agreement is unusual — share options, a cross-border element, a live grievance, restrictive covenants that actually matter — say so when you book rather than at the appointment, so the quote fits the job.
What negotiating actually involves, and how long you have to arrange all this.
Common questions
Who pays the solicitor for a settlement agreement?
Usually the employer, by naming a contribution inside the agreement itself and paying it to the firm directly once the agreement completes. It is a strong convention rather than a right: Acas says the employer 'should consider offering to pay the cost of any independent advice' and in the same passage that 'they do not have to do this'. Anyone telling you it is guaranteed is overstating it.
How much does a settlement agreement solicitor cost?
For a straightforward sign-off, firms that publish a price for this work advertise a fixed fee. Reading the published price pages of UK firms advertising for this work in September 2026, the fixed fees we saw quoted ran from roughly £350 to £750 plus VAT. That is a survey of what firms publish, not a market average, and a firm that has not published a price may quote outside it.
What if the employer's contribution does not cover the fee?
Ask for the fee to be capped at the contribution before you instruct anyone. Firms that do this work in volume often agree, because a sign-off is predictable work. Get the cap in writing in the client care letter, not in an email that says 'it should be fine'.
Does the contribution cover negotiating a better figure?
Normally not. A contribution is priced for advice on the terms and effect of the agreement, which is the condition in s.203(3)(c) that makes the document work. Negotiation is separate work on an open-ended timescale, and it is usually charged separately or funded out of any increase achieved. Agree which one you are buying before the first appointment.
Is VAT on top?
Almost always, and it is the most common reason a quoted figure and an invoice do not match. A fee quoted as '£500 plus VAT' is £600 at the current standard rate. Check whether the employer's contribution is expressed inclusive or exclusive of VAT, because the two are different offers.
Do I pay anything if I decide not to sign?
That depends on the wording. Many employer contributions are payable only if the agreement completes, which means walking away can leave you with the fee. It is a question worth asking on the first call rather than discovering in the invoice, and a firm that does this work regularly will have a clear answer.
Can I use my own solicitor rather than one the employer suggests?
Yes, and you should be alert to why it matters. Section 203(3B) says a person is not a relevant independent adviser if they are, are employed by, or are acting in the matter for the employer or an associated employer. An employer suggesting a firm is common and is not improper in itself, but the choice is yours and the independence requirement is absolute.
Does this site charge me anything?
No. Firms pay us a fixed advertising fee for each enquiry, agreed in advance, which does not vary with what happens afterwards or with what a firm charges you.
Sources cited on this page
- Acas — Making a formal offer (employer contribution to advice costs)
- Employment Rights Act 1996, s.203(3) — the advice condition
- Employment Rights Act 1996, s.203(3A)–(3B) — who can advise you
- Acas — Settlement agreements
- GOV.UK — Redundancy pay
Every figure above was read from the source it is attributed to on 19 September 2026. How we check this.
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