Changing jobs is typically a stressful, life-altering experience. Severance benefits may, however, help to facilitate the transformation period. With reliable advice from a proficient employment law attorney, California employers and employees are both able to negotiate severance packages that satisfy the needs of each individual.
How a Severance Package Works
Although it can seem like a severance package is just a last paycheck amount, the truth is that it is often a complicated mixture of several various elements. An efficient negotiation starts with understanding which of these elements is your top priority. For instance: a lot of employees might be worried about ongoing availability to their health insurance and consequently might be willing to agree to a lower overall payout in exchange for ongoing healthcare benefits. On the other hand, employers might be more interested in stopping any potential impending legal claims against the business. An employer with this particular concern could very well negotiate a comprehensive release of liability in exchange for the employee’s written statement saying that they will not sue the business.
Handling the Negotiations
Some kinds of people think of these negotiations like a game of poker, one in which neither individual is willing to share her or his primary objective. Handling your negotiations this way, however, almost never brings about the end results you were hoping for, let alone a resolution which gives both people what they wanted. Rather, it is necessary for each person to be open about what elements are the most valuable to them so that resolutions can be altered to fit the wants on both sides of the table.
It is also crucial for employers to understand that, during the severance negotiation process, their employees should have adequate availability to an attorney. Hurrying your employees into a severance package without allowing them enough time to speak with an attorney could end in legal claims down the road saying that the settlement was unfair.
When it comes to forming a severance package, it is necessary to be imaginative and not get hung up on any imagined scenarios about what the end result will be. Every severance package does not have to end in a huge payment. Different elements are able to be adjusted and balanced to obtain an ideal outcome for both parties. There are several choices, and the further that those choices are examined, the better the chances are that each person will have their priorities addressed by the contract. Due to the fact that a severance package has so many different elements to it, it is very possible that your needs can be met by modifying one or more of them in negotiations
The reputable, licensed corporate attorneys at the Leiva Law Firm can assist employers and employees throughout the process of negotiating a severance package no matter how many issues are on the table. Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation today by contacting us at 818-519-4465 as soon as possible. Our attorneys speak both English and Spanish.
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