No one wants to think about losing their job, especially when they were just hired. However, some employees in Florida and elsewhere take the time to protect themselves and their future by negotiating severance pay. Much like a prenuptial agreement is entered into to protect the couple in case they decide to divorce in the future, creating a severance pay agreement could help protect an employee if they were to part ways with their employer.

Severance pay

In simple terms, severance pay is a sum of money or benefits that are offered by an employer to an employee when her or she leaves the company under certain circumstances. While employers are not legally required to pay severance, it is important for current and potential employees to be aware of a company’s severance package policies. As such, this knowledge is not only helpful for current employees but also beneficial for individuals who have been given a job offer. In this situation, an individual could negotiate severance pay prior to accepting a job offer.

Negotiating an agreement

Common situations where severance pay is available include a layoff, job elimination or when an employee and employer mutually agree to part ways. When a company has a severance pay policy, it usually describes this payment sum as one or two weeks of pay for each year of service by a salaried employee. Thus, if an individual has worked for a company for 30 years, he or she could receive 30 to 60 weeks worth of pay in a lump sum or paid over a period of time. However, it is important to note that a single lump sum does come with lax liabilities.

Negotiating for severance pay is like creating a safety net or insurance if he or she experience and severance eligible employment event. Much like insurance policy holders may never need to use their policy for reimbursement or coverage or couples with a prenuptial agreement may never go through a divorce, employees that negotiate for a severance pay package may never need to use it. However, it is a step an employee could take to protect his or herself. Additionally, by negotiating these terms, it may be easier to enforce the agreement in matters where an employer might seek to evade having to pay severance.

Employment disputes are challenging to navigate for employees. They can be emotional and overwhelming, and in some cases, and employee may not be fully aware of the laws in place that specifically protect employees in his or her situation. Thus, it is imperative that employees in a dispute regarding severance pay or any other employment issue take the time to understand the matter and what options they have to resolve the situation.