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Considerations When You Negotiate Severance

In Texas, the rise of tech and the existing energy industry creates a lot of job opportunities. However, jobs can sometimes end with termination, and to smooth the process along, companies often offer severance packages for their workers upon termination.

Severance Guidelines

The goal of the company when offering severance is to get you to agree not to press a lawsuit against them in the future. Severance can include many things, from monetary payment to help with finding a new job. However, there are very few rules or conventions about the size and type of benefits in severance, so there is a lot of room to negotiate.

In general, companies are not required to pay any severance, and often they specify this in hiring agreements. They offer severance so that you don’t cause problems by suing them later on. The circumstances determine how much you might get. If you are being terminated for poor performance or fit, the company will likely be less willing to offer something. If you were valued but there were outside problems like an economic downturn that led to your termination, they might be willing to pay more. If the termination could potentially have been illegal or wrongful, you have better grounds to sue and can ask for more in severance.

It’s also important to know which aspects can be changed and which can’t. For example, the company can pick whatever financial award it wants to give you, but the rules around extending health insurance are established by regulators. Make sure you know what you can ask for and what you can’t.