Rebound: A Proven Plan for Starting Over After Job Loss

Chapter 8 What You Can Expect from a Severance Package

Unfortunately, the answer can be summed up in two words: Absolutely nothing. Which isn’t to say that you won’t receive some kind of severance offer. But unless a formal severance plan is part of the company’s published policy (and that policy is up-to-date), or unless a severance package is a part of your own individual employment contract, your company can decide what it wants to offer you and what it wants from you in return. You can always say no, of course, or perhaps submit a counter offer. But the terms are very much at the company’s sole discretion, at least at the outset.

There are, however, certain provisions that are commonly found in severance packages. And they reflect those ...