What are severance agreements and how do they work?

Many New Yorkers have been hearing good news from employers recently: “You’re hired!” Although this is often a cause for celebration, both employees and employers usually have some things to sort out before the big first day of work. Often one of these things is negotiating a severance agreement. A severance agreement provides employees with money or other benefits under certain circumstances when they leave the company. This blog post will provide some essential information about severance agreements.

Severance agreements provide an outgoing employee with additional compensation when they leave an employer under conditions provided for in the agreement. These agreements are agreed to and signed beforehand. For example, in a severance agreement the employee may agree not to sue the employer for wrongful termination in exchange for receiving the additional compensation.

Many legal experts say that employees may wish to secure additional concessions from their employers before signing a severance agreement. It may be possible to secure a release of rights from the employer, preventing the employer from suing the employee for wrongful behavior or certain other claims in exchange for the employee’s agreeing to take a severance package.

Severance agreements may involve both employers and employees giving up important rights. This means that both employers and employees may want to consult with an attorney during the severance agreement negotiation process. An attorney with experience in employer representation and employee representation may be a good choice. Proper representation can be of great assistance to those in situations of employee matters.