01/27/21 at 4:08AM UTC
|Ask anything (even anonymously)…
© 2021 Fairygodboss. All rights reserved.
How common is severance?
My company laid folks off last week and did not offer any severance which surprised me. Some had 10-20 years with the company. The company said they were offering generous separation packages to affected employees but the employees said that didn’t include severance it just involved paying them their accrued vacation and offering COBRA. I am honestly surprised and disappointed. When one affected employee (with 14 years at the company) inquired why no severance the HR person said the company didn’t feel it was necessary.
The company did a staff reduction in an effort to cut expenses, blamed on covid but really just low sales.
I am most irritated they said they gave generous separation packages when they didn’t do that IMO.
8 Comments
Anonymous
01/27/21 at 4:15AM UTC
It's pretty shady but tells you the kind of company you are working for. They don't care.
Reply
Melissa Boillot
Passionate people leader and business partner
183
01/27/21 at 4:15AM UTC
It is really disappointing that their statement mislead employees. Some organizations don't have the capital to pay severance, particularly when employees will also be eligible for unemployment benefits, but they should be transparent if they discuss what was offered to these employees.
1
Reply
Anonymous
01/27/21 at 4:37AM UTC
No severance = bigger bonuses for the Sr management. Simple math problems. Them making up stories saves them drama by not looking bad.
1
1 Reply
Anonymous
01/28/21 at 1:34AM UTC
If this is genuinely down to expenses and poor sales, they may not have the capital to expend on it and stay in business.
Reply
Jacquelyn LloydHR Consultant
534
01/27/21 at 4:37AM UTC
Pretty common. Usually a week per year of service up to 12 weeks. Six - eighteen months for C-Suite. Most severance packages contain a gag order, but it sounds like your folks were pretty unhappy, so - that's probably not the case for your situation. Because you didn't hear it directly, I would probably follow up with HR to confirm that that is the company's stance. At any rate, it's quite harsh. I'm very sorry for your co-workers. It will certainly give you food for thought moving forward with this employer. Good luck!
1
1 Reply
Anonymous
01/27/21 at 12:44PM UTC
I would have expected a gaga order too but HR hasn’t actually gotten termination papers to people, they are mailing them out. It was all done over the phone of course and some people apparently get like HR did not really go over what they needed to know like how to apply for unemployment and such, they were just focused on “your fired, send back your laptop”. They didn’t even provide boxes or shipping labels for people to send stuff back, as someone I spoke to said “I guess I just throw this laptop in a used Amazon box and hope it doesn’t break or get lost, I will pay for a tracking #”
Reply
Anonymous
01/28/21 at 1:33AM UTC
Realistically, if business is bad, there's no severance to be had. If lay offs were down to a major company downturn as opposed to a restructure or a singular redundancy, they likely do not have the money to pay you. We laid off 50% of the company and senior management took pay cuts so that we could survive. Paying out vacation and letting them keep benefits was the best we could do.
1 Reply
Anonymous
01/28/21 at 7:02PM UTC
in many states paying the vacation is required by law so it’s not a nice thing to do it’s a requirement!
Reply
Looking for a new job?
Our employer partners are actively recruiting women! Update your profile today.
The Fairygodboss Feed
We're a community of women sharing advice and asking questions
Employer Reviews
Foxtel
Be ready to know everything about your job and do the job...
Amadeus
Flexible when needing to take time off, but not the most...
Medica
Many women thrive here! The ones who don’t fit well with...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Very good place to work. Co-workers are commited in what...
Wells Fargo
If you dont have someone supporting/promise your career,...