Settlement Agreements:
Structuring the deal to your advantage
Post-Conference Workshop

Presented by Lancaster House and the University of Toronto,
Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources

Friday, December 10, 2010
Full-Day Interactive Session
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel
123 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON, M5H 2M9

Settlements are often the best way to resolve a dispute. However, attempts at settlement may fail when negotiations get hung up on the details of the deal. This session provides practical ideas to assist you in resolving cases as often as possible. The workshop leaders provide tips and insights into how to overcome many of the stumbling blocks to settlement, including:

• Maximizing Existing Dollars: What can be done to maximize the money on the table, without additional cost, including income tax, employment insurance repayment, pensions, RRSPs, and structured payments? How do you legitimately avoid an EI repayment in foregoing the right to reinstatement?
• Confidentiality Clauses: Why are confidentiality clauses used? Are they necessary? How can they be made effective? How do you ensure that everyone who needs to know about the settlement is aware of the confidentiality clause? What can be done if the clause is breached?
• Releases and Indemnities: What terms should be included in releases and indemnities? What terms go too far? When is it appropriate for a union to obtain a release from the grievor?
• Signing the Settlement: Who should sign the settlement? Should an alleged harasser be required to sign? Who signs off in the settlement of a group grievance? What can be done if the grievor will not sign a reasonable settlement agreement? What happens if a person who is not a party to the settlement later takes action to prevent its implementation?
• Unusual Scenarios: What creative settlement terms can be deployed in unusual cases? What special considerations apply to settlements of harassment, accommodation, selection, promotion and layoff grievances?