Guide to Negotiating Your Severance Package
Maximizing Your Severance PackageLosing your job can be a challenging experience, but when your employer extends a severance package, it can serve as a vital safety net during your job transition. However, before signing on the dotted line, it's crucial to grasp the intricacies of severance negotiations, especially if you believe you deserve better terms or have concerns about relinquishing your legal rights. This guide aims to provide a clear understanding of whether, when, and how to negotiate for an improved severance package, covering essential aspects and strategies.
Understanding the Offer and DeadlinesNearly every severance offer comprises these fundamental components:
Will Your Employer Negotiate?While your initial severance offer may not explicitly invite negotiation, there are reasons your employer might consider it:
Working Within Severance Acceptance DeadlinesUnderstanding the significance of the deadline is crucial. Waiting until the last moment to negotiate puts you in a weaker position, as it may necessitate requesting an extension. Ideally, you should begin considering your options and strategy within days of receiving the offer, especially when working with an attorney.
If you miss the deadline, you forfeit the guaranteed opportunity to accept the offered benefits. However, you can still reach out to your employer after the deadline to discuss your potential claims and request a fair compensation amount, albeit with reduced bargaining power. The Revocation PeriodFor individuals over 40, a seven-day revocation period is often included in the severance agreement, as required by age discrimination laws. If you're running out of time and wish to secure some form of severance, you can sign and use the revocation period to negotiate better terms. However, this places you in a challenging bargaining position.
Importance of Exploring Potential Legal ClaimsBefore accepting a severance package, consider whether you might have legal claims against your former employer. Understanding the value of these claims and how they compare to the offered severance package is essential for effective negotiation. Employers may be more willing to negotiate when faced with potential legal liabilities.
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Why Legal Counsel Is Essential
The involvement of a skilled employment attorney in the severance negotiation process can be immensely beneficial. An attorney can:
- Assess Your Claims: Evaluate the strength and potential value of your legal claims against your former employer.
- Develop a Negotiation Strategy: Align your negotiation strategy with your goals and legal rights.
- Communicate Your Claims: Articulate your potential legal claims to your employer, emphasizing the need for an improved severance package.
- Drafting Assistance: Review and potentially revise the severance agreement to ensure it's fair and favorable to you.
Conclusion
Negotiating a better severance package is a multifaceted process involving understanding employer motivations, deadlines, potential legal claims, and the invaluable role of legal counsel. By being informed and seeking professional guidance, you can navigate this transitional period in your career effectively.
Meet Our Employment Lawyers
Emily Smith-Lee is the owner and founder of slnlaw. She is a 1996 graduate of Boston College Law School. She was previously a partner at the Boston office of a large international firm, where she worked for thirteen years before starting the firm that became slnlaw in 2009. She has been recognized as Massachusetts Superlawyer each year since 2013, and in 2018 earned recognition as one of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly's Lawyers of the Year. She has written a book on employment law: Rules of the Road, What You Need to Know About Employment Laws in Massachusetts, and helped thousands of clients on both the employee and employer side with severance and non compete review and negotiation, wage and hour, discrimination and retaliation disputes, workplace sexual harassment situations, and advice about employment law generally.
Rebecca Rogers: Rebecca is a 2006 graduate of Boston College Law School, and has worked with slnlaw since 2013. She previously worked as an intellectual property litigation attorney for Fish & Richardson in Boston, Massachusetts, and clerked for the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Rebecca has helped clients with wage and hour disputes, employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, and advice to both employees and employers about navigating complex employment situations.
Jenna Ordway: Jenna is a 2013 graduate of Quinnipiac Law School, and also earned an LLM in Taxation from Boston University in 2015. She has been affiliated with slnlaw since 2011, first as a law clerk and then as an attorney. Jenna has been recognized since 2019 as a "Rising Star" by Massachusetts Superlawyers. Jenna has helped clients with review and negotiation of severance and non compete agreements, wage and hour disputes, discrimination, harassment and retaliation claims, and advice to small business owners about employment law and other business matters.
Elijah Bresley: Eli is a 2014 graduate of Seton Hall Law school, and has worked with slnlaw since 2020. He previously worked for a boutique employment law firm outside of Boston, and then for the Labor and Employment department of a large Boston firm. He also spent a year clerking for the judges of the Superior Court in Hartford, Connecticut. Eli has helped clients on the employee and employer side with all varieties of employment law issues, including employment discrimination, harassment, retaliation, and wage and hour issues, litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts, and advising employers about employment policies and practices.
Sharleen Tinnin: Sharleen is a 2010 graduate of Northeastern University School of Law, and has been with slnlaw since 2023. Prior to joining slnlaw, she worked with King, Tilden, McEttrick & Brink, P.C. on complex civil litigation matters. She previously worked for the United States Department of Justice, and received an "Excellence in Justice" award in 2017. Sharleen has helped clients with wage and hour, discrimination, harassment and retaliation disputes, review and negotiation of severance agreements, and litigation in MCAD and state and federal courts on employment related issues.
How We Can Help
Our experienced team can provide valuable insights and legal assistance to help you secure the best severance package possible. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
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