After my employer restructured the function within which I was employed, my new manager invited me to a “protected conversation”. I was unfamiliar with the term and therefore I searched the internet where I discovered (on the Monaco solicitors website) that it is normal for an employer to offer this when looking to have an ‘off the record’ chat, and make you an offer to leave the business, without you being able to refer to that conversation in a tribunal claim later. Although the company insisted that there was no pressure to leave, the nature of the discussion made me feel very uncomfortable and so I contacted Monaco and was put in contact with Chris Hogg. Chris calmly and methodically guided me through the process of negotiating a separation with my employer and he managed to agree a settlement that was significantly higher than I had expected. While I hope to never again need to call on the services of Monaco Solicitors, they would certainly be the first to call if I needed help and I would recommend them to anyone that finds themselves in a similar situation to me.