Do you have to negotiate a severance if you are terminated?

Do you have to negotiate a severance if you are terminated?

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. In an uncertain economy, almost any employee or executive will at some point face having his or her employment terminated. If you are terminated, you want to be able to negotiate a reasonable severance package, especially if you have an existing employment agreement.

When do employers have to pay severance to employees?

If an employer dismisses an employee due to redundancy, he should pay severance payment as soon as practicable. The Employment Ordinance also requires an employer to make severance payment to his employee not later than 2 months from the receipt of a written notice for claiming such payment from the employee. Back to questions Q5

What should be excluded in a severance release?

The release by the employee should exclude any rights under the severance agreement. The release by the employee should exclude any vested rights to any employment benefit plan of the company (stock options, retirement benefits, etc.).

Can a company deny you severance if you are on unemployment?

Severance is a company decision and unemployment is a state decision. The company can’t deny you unemployment, but they can say “if you are receiving unemployment, we won’t give you severance”. Some companies require you to complete your severance payments before applying for unemployment.

Do you have to pay for severance if you get fired?

Unless a contract covers you, most states classify you as an “at-will” employee, meaning your boss can fire you without a set reason and not be on the hook for any severance pay. The rule of thumb that applies to severance packages—two weeks’ pay for every year of employment—turns out to be a rough average.

When to decline the offer of severance pay?

But your new offer pays a salary of three times the severance amount and several years of employment. Obviously, you may want to decline the severance if this the first time you have been presented with a non-compete and non-solicitation provision, as the future salary far outweighs the severance being offered.

What makes an employer give you more severance?

The better your evaluations and the more popular you are, the more likely that an employer will carve out more severance pay. What triggered your dismissal? If the circumstances behind your termination are out of your company’s hands—downsizing as the result of a merger or the axing of an obsolete division—terms are likely to be more generous.

When does a relationship matter during severance negotiations?

Relationships can matter during severance negotiations, too. There are times when employees themselves handle some of the face-to-face hagglings over severance terms instead of bringing in an attorney. Those cases are more common when employees have a close relationship with a boss or someone else on the other side of the table.