Been offered a deed of release or exit package and asked to sign quickly?
Don't sign anything until you understand exactly what you're giving up.
An exit agreement or deed of release usually comes with a deadline attached, and it's easy to feel pressured into signing before you've had a chance to properly understand it. This page helps you know what to check, what to ask for, and when to get advice before you put your name on anything.
This page is general information, not legal advice. We're a referral service, we're not a law firm, and reading this page doesn't tell you what to do with your specific document. A deed of release or settlement agreement is a legal document with real money and real rights attached, get it read by an independent employment lawyer before you sign anything.
Worth checking before you sign anything
- Exactly what claims you're being asked to give up, deeds are often written more broadly than just the immediate issue.
- Whether the payment reflects what you're actually owed, or is meant to buy off a genuine problem with how things were handled.
- Whether you're being given a fair amount of time to consider it, being rushed is itself a warning sign.
- Whether an exit agreement and a deed of release are both involved, and whether they say the same thing.
Questions people ask about settlements and exit packages
A document exchanging a payment for you giving up your right to bring further claims against your employer. See our dedicated page on deeds of release for the full detail.
Often, yes. Most offers are a starting point, not a final answer, especially if there's a genuine question over how your employment ended.
Typically your right to bring further claims related to your employment, sometimes written more broadly than people expect. This is exactly why it's worth having read by someone independent before you sign.
They're closely related and often used together, a settlement is the broader agreement (including the payment), while a deed of release is the document that formally releases claims. Read both carefully, they're not always identical in what they cover.
Get it checked before you sign
Send us what you've been offered and how much time you have.
Tell us what happened
Takes about two minutes. No long intake form, the detail comes later, once a real adviser is involved.