The considerable impact of severance agreement terms

On Behalf of | Apr 5, 2016 | Employment Contracts |

When an executive or professional is asked to leave a company, for any reason, there are some major legal issues that can come before them. One are severance issues, as they may be offered a severance agreement by their employer. 

When it comes to severance agreements, what specific terms are present in the agreement is an incredibly important issue. 

For one, the terms dictate what sorts of compensation will be a part of the severance package. Severance package compensation can vary quite a bit in type, amount and duration. For example, a severance package might not only involve monetary compensation but also things like rights to continue to be a part of an employee benefits program.

The terms also dictate what particular rights an employee would be surrendering by agreeing to the severance package, as severance agreements generally involve an employee agreeing to give up certain rights (like the right to sue the employer) in exchange for the severance package.

So, when an executive/professional signs an offered severance agreement in relation to their termination from a company, what terms the agreement has can have big implications for their future.

Thus, what an executive/professional does when offered a severance agreement, such as what they do in regards to the negotiation of terms, can matter greatly. What sorts of negotiating options and leverage they might have can be influenced by many things including the details of their employment, the details of their employer and the circumstances of their termination.

Skilled employment law attorneys can help executives/professionals offered severance agreements with developing a severance negotiation strategy tailored to their goals and situation. They can also provide such individuals with explanations of what impacts the different terms contained in an offered severance agreement could have if the agreement were to be signed.

Source: FindLaw, “Severance Packages: Are Benefits, Severance Pay on the Table?,” Accessed April 4, 2016

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