Senior exits: leave on your terms
A senior exit is the negotiated departure of an executive or senior professional, covering the financial package, equity and bonus treatment, references, announcements and restrictive covenants.
- SRA-regulated panel
- One firm, not ten
- Free, no-obligation first conversation
Are you an employee or an employer?
Secure · Your details are only shared with the firm we match you to
SRA
Regulated solicitors only
24h
Typical time to first contact
Free
Initial consultation — your solicitor quotes before any work begins
UK
Nationwide panel coverage
At a certain level, leaving a business stops being an HR process and becomes a commercial negotiation. The number matters, but so does everything around it: how the departure is announced, what the reference says, what happens to unvested awards, and what you are free to do next.
Our panel includes solicitors who act for senior professionals and executives on exactly these negotiations. Discreet, commercially minded, and used to dealing with employers' external counsel as equals.
Situations we regularly place
- You want to initiate an exit and need the approach, timing and opening position planned before anything is said
- The business has signalled a change: a restructure, a new leadership team, a role quietly diminished
- An exit package is on the table and the equity, bonus and covenant terms need expert scrutiny
- A boardroom or partnership dispute needs resolving without publicity
Not sure where you stand?
Two minutes of questions, and a specialist tells you what your options actually are.
⏱ Get advice before you sign anythingOnce an agreement is signed, your claims are usually settled for good, and tribunal claims must normally start within 3 months less one day of the event. Advice taken early keeps every option open.
What a well-run exit protects
Reputation
Agreed references and announcement wording, internally and to the market
Reward
Bonus, LTIPs, deferred compensation and good-leaver treatment of unvested equity
Freedom
Notice, garden leave and restrictive covenants that do not hold back your next move
Why representation matters at this level
Senior packages are documents within documents: service agreements, share plan rules, bonus schemes, partnership deeds. What you are actually owed as a leaver depends on how these interact, and the leaver provisions are frequently more negotiable than they appear.
Your employer will take advice before the first conversation. Matching that early keeps the negotiation balanced, and it signals that the discussion will be conducted seriously and professionally.
Discretion is the discipline throughout. These negotiations are conducted quietly, usually while you remain in role, and are structured so that if no agreement is reached, nothing has been conceded and nothing has leaked.
Planning a move, or sensing one coming?
A confidential conversation with the right specialist costs nothing and commits you to nothing. We will make one discreet, well-matched introduction.
Senior exit FAQs
My employer does not know I want to leave. Can I still get advice?
Yes, and that is the ideal time. A specialist can help you plan the approach, the timing and the opening position before anything is said internally.
How is a senior exit different from a settlement agreement?
The agreement is the final document. A senior exit is the negotiation that shapes it: bonus and equity treatment, restrictive covenants, references, announcements and timing, often over weeks of discreet discussion.
Will negotiating damage my relationship with the business?
Handled well, no. At senior level both sides usually want a clean, professional parting. Good advisers negotiate firmly on substance while keeping the tone constructive.
What about my equity, LTIPs and deferred bonus?
Leaver provisions are where senior exits are won and lost. Whether you are treated as a good leaver, and what happens to unvested awards, is often negotiable and can outweigh the headline payment.
How confidential is your service?
Completely. Your enquiry is shared only with the single panel firm we match you with, and nothing is ever communicated to your employer by us.
Understand your position
Employment Solicitors Vs HR Consultants: When Employers Need Legal Defence
Understand when employers should instruct employment solicitors for workplace disputes, settlement talks and tribunal claims to protect their position.
Last reviewed October 2026Occupational health referral: what it means and your rights
What an occupational health referral is, whether you must attend, your consent rights over the report and how OH advice affects adjustments and dismissal.
Last reviewed October 2026Access to Work: the government grant for disabled workers
How the DWP Access to Work grant works, who qualifies, what it pays for, the 2026/27 cap of £69,260 and how it fits with reasonable adjustments.
Last reviewed October 2026Reasonable adjustments for mental health at work
Examples of reasonable adjustments for anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions, when you are protected and how to ask your employer.
Last reviewed October 2026Reasonable adjustments at work: your rights under the Equality Act 2010
What reasonable adjustments are, what the Equality Act 2010 requires, real examples, how to ask and what to do if your employer says no.
Last reviewed October 2026Maternity Allowance: Who Qualifies and How Much You Get
Maternity Allowance explained for 2026/27: £194.32 a week or 90% of earnings, who qualifies instead of SMP, and how leaving or changing jobs while pregnant affects it.
Last reviewed October 2026The best exits are planned, not reacted to
One discreet introduction to the right specialist. Free and confidential.