Can a Severance Package Be Negotiated?

An employer might offer you a severance package before terminating your employment. There are no federal or state laws that require job providers to provide former employees with severance pay and benefits.

Some employers in New Jersey offer severance packages as part of the hiring process. A professional employee in particular might require it as a type of incentive to accept a position.

Many employers alternatively offer severance when reducing the size of the workforce, but not when termination is due to performance or disciplinary issues. No matter the situation, negotiating a severance package when separating from your employer might be possible.

Your employer might have clear and justifiable reasons to terminate your employment and not offer a severance package. Theft or timecard fraud are two of many examples of reasons why an employer might end a worker’s employment without compensation.

Many times, the instances behind the termination might be questionable. Maybe you filed a sexual harassment or a discrimination complaint against a manager, which resulted in your illegal firing.

An experienced lawyer could review your situation and protect your rights. You might have a strong case against your employer based on some sort of discrimination or other unlawful activity that you encountered while working.

An attorney could help you negotiate a severance package. Your attorney could review any severance offered and help you understand how it would affect you.

Most severance agreements require recipients to agree that they will not file work discrimination or other claims against the employer in exchange for accepting the severance. The severance amount often is based on your final average weekly pay and the amount of time that you were with the employer.

For example, you might get a month of severance pay for each year that you were with your employer. Your employer might base the severance pay based on your average weekly earnings during your last six months on the job.

While you are collecting severance pay, you will likely maintain any health care, dental, or vision benefits. Your employer will not provide 401(k) or other financial incentives that you received while working, though.

Severance Affects Unemployment

While you are receiving severance pay, you cannot file for and accept unemployment benefits. You would have to wait until your severance pay concludes before you would be eligible for unemployment compensation.

The calculation for determining your unemployment compensation would not include your severance pay. Instead, it would be based on your average weekly pay while you were working.

After your severance pay and benefits have ended, you should be able to extend your health insurance benefits while you collect unemployment. Unfortunately, it would not include your employer’s and likely would require you to pay the premiums.

Cherry Hill Employment Lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates, P.C. Uphold Workers’ Rights in Severance Negotiations

If you need help with a severance package, speak with one of our experienced Cherry Hill employment lawyers at Sidney L. Gold & Associates, P.C. Call us at 215-569-1999 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation. Located in Philadelphia and Pennsauken, New Jersey, we represent clients in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey, including Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Marlton, Moorestown, and Mount Laurel.