A BOLTON employment law expert has warned employers not to have 'off-the-record' negotiations with staff after a tribunal awarded a payout worth thousands of pounds in compensation.

The warning involves discussions about severance pay, after a tribunal allowed an off-the-record conversation between an employer and an employee to be allowed in evidence.

Experts are now warning of the risk of having to pay out more compensation when the details of such conversations are raised at a tribunal.

The case involved an employee at London investment banker BNP Paribas.

The tribunal allowed the discussions to be used in evidence because it found that the employees complaint against the company was not a dispute and ruled that 'without-prejudice' meetings could not be held to settle redundancy.

Fiona Holdsworth, of Bolton law firm Kippax Beaumont Lewis said: 'Alarm bells are ringing because in these cases, employees were allowed to submit evidence from conversations at supposedly confidential 'without prejudice' meetings.

'It is bad news for both employers and employees. Workers could miss out on attractive settlements because employers will be reluctant to negotiate openly with them, while managers should think carefully about what they say to staff in meetings about a final settlement package

'What they say could turn up like a bad penny. Employers should be on their toes. It effectively means they are now more likely to dismiss first and then negotiate afterwards.

'Without prejudice meetings traditionally enable employers to negotiate a payoff without the discussion being used in evidence either in court or before an employment tribunal.'