I explained in today’s email that there are several tactics employees commonly use to turn settlement negotiations to their advantage. To counter these, it’s important you can set out your own position confidently and assertively. These are 3 tips to help you do this:

Everyone has their own negotiating style but, usually, a firm and respectful approach works best, especially if you are talking to an employee directly rather than to their more experienced representative. While the termination of the employee’s employment will be bread and butter to their representative, and may be to you, it’s likely that the employee will be feeling pretty stressed by the process. Being understanding and not being provoked into reacting angrily can help take the heat out of a difficult negotiation.

You need to be clear what your settlement parameters are and how far you are prepared to go to achieve them. So before you enter the negotiations, weigh up the costs and risks of not entering into an agreement against the costs and benefits of doing so. Then keep this assessment in mind during your discussions.

Most disputes arise out of failures of communication and it is human nature to jump to negative conclusions. If an employee thinks they have been dismissed for an unfair reason, they are much more likely to be difficult and demand a significant sum of money. It is therefore best to present the reasons for asking the employee to leave and to sign a settlement agreement in a positive light. Obviously, don’t say you’re anxious that they might have a good claim against you. Better to phrase it as, for example: