Complex & High-Stakes HR Support
Senior exits, tribunal preparation, and interim HR leadership — for the situations where experience and discretion are not optional.
Some HR situations carry consequences that extend well beyond the people involved. A senior departure handled badly can destabilise a leadership team. A tribunal claim can consume months of management attention and six figures in costs. An HR leadership vacuum during a critical period can mean decisions are made without the expertise to make them well.
These are not situations for generalist advice or template-driven processes. They require consultants who have managed high-stakes HR situations before — who understand the legal, commercial, and reputational dimensions, and who can operate with the discretion and judgement that the situation demands.
Esbee provides expert support for the most complex and sensitive HR challenges UK businesses face. If the situation matters, we are the people to call.
What we do
Senior Exits & Settlement Agreements
Managing sensitive departures at board and senior leadership level. Negotiation strategy, settlement agreement terms, communication planning, and transition management. Getting this right protects the business and the individual — and avoids the cost of paying more than you should.
Employment Tribunal Support
Preparing for and supporting businesses through employment tribunal claims. Witness statements, document bundles, case strategy, and commercial decision-making about settlement versus defence. We work alongside your legal team to ensure the HR side of the case is as strong as the legal side.
Interim HR Leadership
Experienced interim HR directors and managers for transitions, maternity cover, or periods of significant change. Senior capability from day one — because the cost of the wrong HR leader is measured in months, not money.
Senior exits and settlement agreements
Senior departures are among the most sensitive situations a business faces. The individual often has access to confidential information, client relationships, and institutional knowledge. The remaining leadership team is watching how the situation is handled. And the financial terms — if not managed properly — can be significantly higher than they need to be.
We manage the full process: assessing the situation, advising on strategy, conducting without prejudice conversations, negotiating terms, and managing the practical transition. For a comprehensive overview of the process, see our guide to settlement agreements.
Our approach is always to achieve a clean, professional exit that protects the business commercially while treating the individual with respect. The best departures are the ones that neither party feels the need to talk about afterwards.
A founder-led technology business needed to exit its commercial director — a co-founder who had become a barrier to the next phase of growth. The relationship had deteriorated, and the individual held a significant equity stake. The board had no experience managing a departure of this sensitivity and was concerned about both the commercial disruption and the risk of a claim. We managed the entire process: initial strategy with the board, without prejudice discussions with the individual, negotiation of settlement and equity terms, and a managed transition period. The departure was completed within six weeks. Client relationships were preserved, the team was briefed appropriately, and the total cost was approximately 40 per cent lower than the initial figure the individual's solicitor had proposed.
Employment tribunal preparation and support
Receiving a tribunal claim is stressful. For many business leaders, it is the first time they have been on the wrong end of a legal process. The instinct is often to hand everything to lawyers and hope for the best. That is rarely the right approach.
Tribunal cases are won or lost on the quality of the HR evidence — the processes that were followed, the documents that were created, the conversations that were recorded, and the witnesses who can explain why decisions were made. Our role is to ensure that the HR side of the case is as robust as possible: preparing witness statements, organising document bundles, building chronologies, and advising the business on the commercial merits of settlement versus proceeding to hearing.
We also help businesses learn from tribunal exposure. If a claim has arisen because of a weakness in your processes, we help you fix it — so it does not happen again. Often, an HR MOT after a tribunal experience is a sensible step to identify other areas of risk.
A healthcare provider received an unfair dismissal and disability discrimination claim from a former employee who had been dismissed following a long-term absence. The internal HR team had managed the process but had not followed the company's own absence policy consistently, and the occupational health evidence had not been properly considered before the decision to dismiss. We were engaged to support the company's legal team in preparing for the tribunal. We rebuilt the case chronology, identified the process gaps, prepared the management witnesses, and advised on the realistic range of outcomes. On our recommendation, the business entered into an early settlement at a cost significantly below the potential award. We then redesigned the absence management framework to prevent similar claims in future.
Interim HR directors and managers
There are moments when a business needs senior HR leadership immediately — and cannot wait six months for a recruitment process. A sudden departure, a maternity absence, a period of rapid growth or organisational change, or simply the realisation that a critical decision needs to be made and there is nobody with the experience to make it.
Our interim HR directors and managers step in with immediate effect. They bring the seniority, experience, and credibility to operate at board level from day one. They are not contractors filling a seat — they are experienced consultants who understand that their role is to deliver outcomes during a defined period, then hand over cleanly.
For businesses considering a permanent HR leadership hire, our interim service also provides the time and space to define the role properly — so that when you do recruit, you hire the right person for the business you are becoming, not the business you were.
Frequently asked questions
When should I consider using a settlement agreement?
Settlement agreements are appropriate when both parties benefit from a clean, certain exit — typically for senior departures, situations where a formal process would be protracted or risky, or where the relationship has broken down beyond repair. They provide certainty for the business and the individual. The key is getting the terms right and managing the process properly.
How do you support businesses facing an employment tribunal claim?
We work alongside your legal team to prepare the operational side of the case: witness statements, document bundles, chronologies, and case strategy from an HR perspective. We also support the business in understanding the process, managing the stress of litigation, and making commercially sound decisions about settlement versus defence.
What is an interim HR director and when do I need one?
An interim HR director provides senior HR leadership on a temporary basis — typically during a leadership transition, a period of significant change, maternity cover, or while you recruit a permanent replacement. Our interim consultants bring immediate capability without the time and cost of a permanent hire.
Is everything you do confidential?
Yes. Discretion is fundamental to how we operate. Much of our work involves situations that are commercially sensitive, personally sensitive, or both. Confidentiality is not a policy — it is a core principle of every engagement. You can read more about how we work and our principles.
Identify risks before they escalate
If you have been through a tribunal claim or a difficult exit and want to make sure there are no other vulnerabilities, our HR MOT provides a structured independent review of your entire HR position.
Discuss a sensitive situation
All initial conversations are confidential. Tell us what you are facing and we will explain how we can help.
Get in touch