Compromise Agreements

[Thanks to Lionel Stride of 1 Temple Gardens for providing this case summary]

The EAT (Silber J) has handed down its decision in Industrious Ltd v Vincent, which is authority for the proposition that the Employment Tribunal does have jurisdiction to determine whether a compromise agreement, otherwise complying with the provisions of section 203(3) of the ERA, is unenforceable because of misrepresentation.

There was conflicting authority on whether the Employment Tribunal had any jurisdiction to set aside such a compromise agreement. However, applying the principle in Hennessey v Craigmyle [1985] ICR 879 that the word agreement is subject to all the qualification by which an agreement can be voided at common law, the EAT found that the Employment Tribunal had to ensure that any purported compromise disposing of employment proceedings was a valid agreement. As such an enquiry was not expressly precluded under the ERA, it therefore had jurisdiction to determine the issue.