Protected conversations

A protected conversation is one which your employer can have with you about the termination of your employment. It is provided under section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Your employer can use the process to present you  with the option of a settlement agreement, and allows you and your employer to speak freely, protecting the conversation so that it can't be used as evidence in a tribunal claim. The protection only applies to unfair dismissal claims, and only if there hasn't been any 'improper conduct'. The right does not extend to claims for discrimination, so the protected conversation can be used as evidence in the employment tribunal if the  conversation itself, or the reasons for having it, was discriminatory. If your employer puts you under pressure to accept the settlement agreement or conducts the conversation in some other 'improper' way, such as being aggressive or threatening then you can use the conversation as evidence in the employment tribunal.

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