view to it being terminated on terms agreed between the employer and the employee". The new provisions, which came into force on 29 July 2013, allows an employer to seek agreement with an employee for the latter's dismissal, thereby avoiding any risk of tribunal litigation for wrongful or unfair dismissal. The employee is invited to attend a meeting and may bring a companion (a fellow employee or a trade union officer). The employer, having discussed the issues, can make a written offer of termination, and the employee should be given 10 days to consider. The negotiations are confidential and "without prejudice". A Settlement Agreement is enforceable, but the employer is advised to have a "clawback" clause to allow recovery of any termination sums paid should evidence of misdeeds by the employee later arise. The discussions must observe ACAS Code of Practice 4 guidelines on settlement agreements; failure to comply may amount to "improper behaviour" by the employer, allowing the employee to renege on the agreement. Conflicts of laws Serco Ltd v Lawson [2006] UKHL 3, a UK labour law case concerning the jurisdictional application of employment rights. Duncombe v Department for Education and Skills [2011] UKSC 36, teachers employed by the British government, under contracts governed by English law, to work in EU schools abroad were protected under ERA 1996 s 94 See also Employment Rights Act 1996 Unfair dismissal WorkChoices Wrongful dismissal Redfearn v United Kingdom [2012] ECHR 1878 Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013, Part 2 Orr v Milton Keynes Council [2011] EWCA Civ 62, Aikens LJ, band of reasonable responses means asking what a "hypothetical reasonable employer" would do Turner v East Midlands Trains Ltd [2012] EWCA Civ 1470, Elias LJ the band of reasonable responsible test would be compatible with HRA 1998 s 3 and ECHR article 8, if it had been engaged. It is not Wednesbury unreasonableness Christou v Haringey LBC [2013] EWCA Civ 178, Elias LJ dismissal of council workers who were responsible for Baby P not unfair Notes References H Collins, Justice in Dismissal (OUP 1992) H Collins, Nine proposals for the reform of the law on unfair dismissal (Institute of Employment Rights 2004) A Döse-Deigenopoulos and A Höland, ‘Dismissal of Employees in the Federal Republic of Germany’ (1985) 48(5) Modern Law Review 539-563 External links ACAS - article on unfair dismissal http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=933 Unfair Dismissal From Work Unfair Dismissal Free Helpline www.unfairdismissals.co.uk United