Senior Executive Exit Package Negotiation
Harcourt Stirling Solicitors provides specialist legal support for senior executives—such as directors and C-suite executives—facing dismissal or exit negotiation.
Start with a confidential free initial consultation with an employment law specialist to understand your options.
Why Senior Executives Choose Harcourt Stirling Solicitors for Exit Package Negotiations
Facing dismissal or negotiating an exit package is complex—particularly when your reputation, career, and financial interests are at stake. You need a legal team that understands senior executive contracts and handles your situation with discretion and strategic precision.
Harcourt Stirling Solicitors is a trusted employment law firm, with an experienced team providing expert guidance and personalised support throughout the dismissal or exit negotiation process.
We regularly assist senior executives with exit negotiations, severance agreements, and other employment-related matters — ensuring every case is managed strategically and with tailored attention.
- Discreet and Trusted: We prioritise confidentiality. Our positive client feedback reflects our commitment to protecting professional reputations.
- High-Value Expertise: We routinely advise on high-value severance packages, bonus disputes, and restrictive covenants.
- Strategic Approach: We focus on creative legal strategies to achieve the best possible financial and professional outcome—whether through amicable settlement or robust negotiation.
- UK-Wide Support: Based in Brentford, London, we support senior executives across the UK.
How Harcourt Stirling Solicitors Assists Senior Executives During Exit Negotiations
At Harcourt Stirling Solicitors, we provide expert guidance for senior executives facing dismissal, helping you protect your career, reputation, and financial interests — whether negotiating your exit package, reviewing severance agreements, or exploring legal claims.
Our Process
- Free Initial Consultation – We review the circumstances of your case and listen carefully to your situation to identify potential risks, opportunities, and areas where legal advice can make a difference.
- Case Assessment and Strategy –We analyse the evidence, assess the fairness of your dismissal, and outline potential outcomes. This enables you to make informed decisions based on a clear legal strategy.
- Tailored Exit Planning – We guide you through the most suitable course of action, which may include:
- Negotiating Exit Terms – Confidential discussions to secure favourable severance packages, bonuses, stock options, and references.
- Settlement Agreements – Structuring agreements that protect your financial and professional interests (including restrictive covenants) without the need for litigation.
- Employment Tribunal (If Required) – While we aim for amicable settlement, if a dismissal is unfair and cannot be resolved, we are prepared to represent you at an Employment Tribunal, presenting a robust case to enforce your rights.
- Representation and Support – Our senior executive employment lawyers act on your behalf in discussions with your employer, keeping you informed and supported at every stage.
- Resolution – We aim to achieve the best possible outcome—including compensation, loss of earnings, and reputation protection—allowing you to move forward with confidence.
By combining strategic expertise with a structured approach, Harcourt Stirling Solicitors provides senior executives with the guidance needed to navigate exit negotiations with clarity and peace of mind.
Speak to an employment law specialist today!
What Strengthens a Senior Executive’s Hand in Exit Negotiations?
In senior executive departures, the goal is often to secure a settlement that exceeds standard redundancy or notice pay. To achieve this, we identify specific legal and commercial risks that increase your leverage during negotiations.
A strong negotiating position is often built on:
- Discrimination or Whistleblowing Risks: Unlike standard unfair dismissal (which has a statutory cap), claims involving discrimination or whistleblowing carry uncapped compensation. Identifying these elements can significantly increase the settlement value due to the financial and reputational risk to the employer.
- Failure to follow proper procedure: If your employer failed to follow their own internal policies, the ACAS Code of Practice, or contractual consultation requirements, this constitutes a procedural unfairness that strengthens your claim.
- Breach of Contract: Disputes regarding unpaid bonuses, share options, “Good Leaver” status, or notice periods often provide substantial grounds for negotiating an enhanced package.
- Reputational & Commercial Sensitivity: Senior executives often hold sensitive commercial knowledge. Employers are frequently motivated to settle generously to ensure confidentiality and avoid the public scrutiny of an Employment Tribunal.
- Documented Evidence: A strong paper trail—including emails, meeting notes, and performance reviews—is essential. Evidence that contradicts the employer’s reason for dismissal (such as “performance” or “redundancy”) creates immediate leverage.
Our role is to identify these leverage points early, using them to negotiate a settlement that protects your financial future and professional standing.
What Can Be Included in an Exit Package?
For senior executives, a standard notice payment or statutory redundancy figure is rarely sufficient. A robust exit package should reflect your seniority, your contribution to the business, and the complexity of your compensation structure.
We look beyond basic salary to negotiate a holistic settlement agreement that may include:
- Tax-Efficient Compensation: Structuring termination payments to maximise tax efficiency, including the £30,000 tax-free exemption where applicable.
- Share Options & LTIPs: Negotiating “Good Leaver” status to ensure you retain unvested shares (where possible), stock options, or Long Term Incentive Plans (LTIPs) that might otherwise be forfeited.
- Bonus Payments: Securing pro-rated or full payment of outstanding bonuses and commissions.
- Reputation Management: Agreeing on the precise wording of references and internal/external announcements to ensure the narrative of your departure protects your professional standing.
- Release from Restrictions: Negotiating a waiver or reduction of restrictive covenants (non-competes and non-solicitation clauses), allowing you to join a competitor or start a new venture sooner.
- Outplacement Support: Requiring the employer to fund professional career coaching or outplacement services to assist your transition.
- Legal Fees: It is standard practice for the employer to contribute towards your legal costs for reviewing and signing the settlement agreement.
Our objective is to identify and address every relevant aspect of your remuneration and professional profile during negotiations, so that these matters are properly considered in the final agreement.
Speak to an employment law specialist today!
How to instruct Harcourt Stirling Solicitors
Starting the legal process can feel daunting, but we make the onboarding experience seamless and discreet. Here is how to instruct Harcourt Stirling Solicitors:
- Contact Us – Reach out by phone, email, or our online enquiry form to speak with an experienced senior executive employment specialist. This initial consultation allows you to discuss your situation, ask questions, and receive an obligation-free view of your options.
- Prepare Your Case – If you decide to proceed, we guide you in gathering relevant documents, such as your employment contract and service agreement, details of bonus schemes, commission plans, or LTIPs, emails, performance records, and correspondence related to your dismissal. We also carry out standard legal checks to verify your identity (KYC/AML). Proper preparation ensures we can assess your circumstances thoroughly and provide tailored guidance.
- Case Assessment – With your documents ready, our lawyers review your case in detail, identifying key issues and evaluating the options available to you.
- Strategy Discussion – We explain your rights, outline potential outcomes, and recommend the most suitable approach — whether negotiating exit terms, drafting a settlement agreement, or considering other legal steps.
- Take Action – Once you’re ready, we represent your interests throughout the process, whether in negotiations, settlement discussions, or tribunal proceedings, helping you achieve the best possible outcome for your career, reputation, and financial position.
Our senior executive exit negotiation specialists
Senior executive exit negotiation matters we specialise in
Selected senior executive exit negotiation resources
Selected senior executive exit negotiation case studies
Speak to an employment law specialist today!
Frequently Asked Senior Executive Dismissal Questions
Can I negotiate a better exit package than what is offered?
It is often possible to improve an employer’s initial offer. Employers may start with a standard proposal, but this is rarely their “best and final” position. We review your case to identify leverage points—such as potential legal claims, the value of unvested shares, or procedural errors—which can often be used to negotiate a more favourable settlement.
Does my employer pay for my legal fees?
It is common practice for employers to contribute towards your legal fees, particularly when requiring you to sign a Settlement Agreement. We typically seek to have your employer cover the cost of the legal advice required to conclude the agreement, aiming to minimise your personal financial exposure.
How is a Senior Executive’s settlement calculated?
Unlike statutory redundancy payments (which are capped), a senior exit package is often calculated based on contractual notice, loss of earnings, stock options, and bonuses. If there are potential grounds for discrimination or whistleblowing claims, compensation is uncapped. We assess the full value of your potential claims to ensure the settlement reflects your legal and financial entitlements.
Will I receive a reference if I sign a settlement agreement?
Securing a reference is a key priority in exit negotiations. We usually negotiate for the agreement to include an agreed reference and, where appropriate, the wording of internal or external announcements. This helps ensure that the narrative of your departure protects your future career prospects.
Is there a deadline to bring a claim?
Yes, deadlines in employment law are strict. You typically have just three months less one day from the date of dismissal (or the act of discrimination) to start the ACAS Early Conciliation process. If you have received a Settlement Agreement, you will also have a specific timeframe to accept the offer. We advise seeking legal counsel promptly to ensure you do not miss critical deadlines.
How does the free initial consultation work?
Harcourt Stirling Solicitors offers a free initial consultation to discuss your senior executive dismissal case. The free initial consultation lasts up to 30 mins and is completely free.
It allows you to speak with an employment law specialist, learn about your options, and ask any questions you may have.
Harcourt Stirling Solicitors understand how difficult it can be to speak about sensitive and confidential employment matters during the normal working day – and so you can email us (or fill out the contact form) at anytime and we’ll do our best to respond to your enquiry.
How can I contact Harcourt Stirling Solicitors for advice on a senior exit package?
You can give us a call at 020 3627 6074 from Monday to Friday 9:00 AM to 5:30 PM and one of our specialists will be happy to assist you.
Alternatively, you can fill out the contact form on our website and we’ll do our best to respond to your senior executive dismissal enquiry as soon as we can.
Dismissal claims are subject to strict deadlines, so it’s important to seek advice as early as possible to ensure your rights are protected and you don’t miss any critical time limits.
What are your legal fees and do you offer "No Win, No Fee"?
We understand that cost is a major consideration. Each matter will be weighed on its merits to determine which fee structure to apply to the individual client.
After taking your instructions and assessing your case, we will agree on one of the following funding methods with you:
- No Win, No Fee (CFA): for cases with strong merits, we may work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), meaning you do not pay legal fees unless your claim is successful.
- Fixed Fee: for specific tasks, we can work on a fixed fee basis to be agreed on engagement.
- Hourly Rates: for other matters, we apply our standard hourly rates as per our terms and conditions.
We will ensure you have a clear understanding of the applicable fees before we begin any work.