Settlement Agreement Review Checklist: Claims Waiver and Payment Schedule (UK)

Open one dual mark-log before you book the independent adviser: claims-waiver column and payment-schedule column. List particular claims for waiver, carve-outs that must stay open, each payment line with tax and due date, then adviser and fee lines. Book advice with that marked draft or walk.

Start on the packet — the draft Settlement Agreement PDF you will mark — not on HR Slack. Column A is claims waiver. Column B is the payment schedule. Read Slack only after both columns have marks.

Mererid, product operations lead at Harbour Metrics Ltd (40-person Bristol SaaS), holds Settlement Agreement v3.pdf dated 8 October 2026. Clause 4 is full and final settlement of all claims. Schedule 1 is one £28,000 ex gratia “as soon as practicable after signing”. Clause 9 pays her £350 towards legal fees. HR Slack of 10 October 2026 treats five points as settled: all claims is standard; £28,000 is tax-free under £30,000; as soon as practicable is a date; £350 covers the solicitor; sign by Friday 16 October 2026.

Disclaimer: Checkory provides AI support, not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer for binding decisions.

How to open the dual mark-log before the HR Slack

Create two columns. Claims-waiver marks clause 4 and any annex. Payment-schedule marks Schedule 1 line by line. Keep Slack closed until both have a row.

In practice, the Slack of 10 October 2026 answers hard questions with a shorthand. Keep Acas and GOV.UK with the PDF first. England and Wales only; Scots or Northern Irish procedure needs separate advice.

Why particular claims must be listed

Acas requires the agreement to state the specific legal claims it covers. A bare “full and final settlement of all claims” line fails. Mark clause 4 against any annex naming unfair dismissal, discrimination, wages, holiday, or whistleblowing.

The Acas settlement-agreements page (updated 25 March 2026) lists writing, a specific claim, relevant independent advice, insurance, a named adviser, conditions stated as satisfied, and specific claims covered. The Acas Code says “full and final of all claims” is insufficient. Mererid’s clause 4 has no annex — log a fail.

Which carve-outs to mark still open

Check for express reservations for accrued pension, latent personal injury not yet arisen, and enforcement. If clause 4 covers “all claims” with no carve-outs — exceptions that must stay open — mark the gap for the adviser.

The Frederick George 2026 employer drafting checklist and employee checklists flag pension, latent personal injury, and enforcement. Stay with those sourced examples; do not invent a wider non-waivable list.

How to split each payment line for tax

Split Schedule 1 into unpaid salary; accrued holiday; notice, PILON — payment in lieu of notice — or gardening leave; PENP — post-employment notice pay; redundancy; ex gratia; bonus, commission, and shares.

GOV.UK’s termination-payments tax page taxes wages, holiday, bonuses, restrictive-covenant payments, PILON, gardening leave, and PENP as earnings. Qualifying redundancy or severance may share a £30,000 tax-free pool; HMRC EIM13500 says that threshold does not apply to PENP. Do not calculate Mererid’s PENP — ask the adviser or payroll. Typical mistake: treating one £28,000 “ex gratia” line as tax-free under £30,000. Garden leave versus PILON is a separate exit comparison — mark the chosen route here only.

How to mark due dates, triggers, and conditions

Replace “as soon as practicable” with a calendar date or “within X days of [named trigger]” — signed agreement, termination, return of property, or adviser certificate. Note instalments and withholding conditions.

Acas notes that non-payment is breach of contract. For example, employee checklists often see payment within 14–21 days of finalisation. Commercial Net 30 discipline in the payment-terms review checklist is a different contract; the same habit applies — a calendar date beats a soft phrase.

How to mark adviser, fee payee, and time to consider

Clause 10 must name a relevant independent adviser — a qualified lawyer, certified authorised trade-union adviser, or certified authorised advice-centre worker who does not act for the employer and is insured — and state that statutory conditions are satisfied.

The Acas formal-offer page recommends at least 10 days; the Code’s general rule is a minimum of 10 calendar days unless parties agree otherwise. Mererid’s Slack leaves six calendar days to Friday 16 October 2026. Equality Act 2010 section 147 sets the same adviser conditions for equality claims. Clause 9 pays £350 to Mererid. GOV.UK and Lewis Silkin’s April 2026 FAQs treat legal costs paid directly to the solicitor as the ordinary non-taxed pattern. Ask for direct-to-solicitor wording that covers the advice, and confirm the certificate will issue.

Satellite marks — reference, confidentiality, PTR fence

Clause 7’s “standard policy” reference needs an attached wording schedule. Clause 8: check family and adviser carve-outs, and that protected disclosures, crime reporting, and regulators are not blocked. New post-termination restrictions belong in a separate covenant review; hire-contract notice length belongs elsewhere. Commercial indemnity defence and settlement consent — who picks counsel (a qualified lawyer) and when settlement needs consent — is a different settlement problem; it does not replace Acas adviser conditions on an employment exit.

Pre-certificate action log — book advice or walk

After the marks you should see particular claims listed or a fail; carve-outs open or a gap; tax marks on payment lines; calendar dates; a named insured adviser; fee payee; reference and confidentiality marks; and the Acas 10-day window versus Friday pressure. Book a relevant independent adviser with the marked draft, or walk — do not sign from the Slack alone.

Order: claims annex, carve-outs, payment split, dates, adviser and fee, satellite fences, then book or walk. Use document analysis as a first-pass — a quick extract of the file, not the independent advice and not a signature decision.