Everything you need to know about severance pay - TheJobNetwork

Everything you need to know about severance pay - TheJobNetworkFor fruchtwein of us, our professional lives are filled with a series of highs and lows that mark the journey along our individual career pathshighs that include praise for good performance, promotions and new work responsibilities, salary increases, and new challenges, as well as lows that include disappointment, frustration, burnout, and getting fired. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-1467144145037-0) ) If youve ever experience getting fired, youre well aware that it can be one of the most difficult experiences a person can go through in lifeon top of the professional setbacks and loss of purpose and identity that can come with losing a job, the financial repercussions can have a severe, profound, and lasting adverse effect.Getting fired is never something to look forward to, and most of us work hard to avoid it but the truth is that despite our efforts there are times in our lives when things happen that we cant prevent or control. If youre newly unemployed or worried about getting fired, you may be trying to figure out what financial options are available to you to help offset the loss of a regular paycheck, including the possibility of getting severance pay.What is severance pay?According to the U.S. Department of Labor, severance pay is a financial benefit thats often granted to employees upon termination of employment. Its designed to help ease the often-abrupt transition from gainful employment and a regular paycheck to the loss of guaranteed income that characterizes unemployment. One important thing to leide is that severance pay it not a given it is not a universal right granted to all employees, nor is it protected by the government under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Instead, severance pay is typically an agreed upon financial arrangement between an employer and employee, and the amount received is usually based upon such factors as final salary at the time of employment termination and length of employment. In addition, the reason(s) surrounding your job loss may be a significant factor regarding whether or not youre eligible for severance payfor example, youre much more likely to be offered severance pay if youre laid off due to the financial hardship or restructuring of your employer vs. getting fired for cause.How do you know if youre entitled to severance pay?Although its at the discretion of your employer to offer severance to help employees cope with job loss, there are three potential scenarios that may help you quickly determine that youre entitledIts a predetermined and previously agreed upon aspect of your employment contractIts an established company policy for all employees where you workYoure entitled to severance under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), a U.S. labor law that stipulates that any employer with 100 or more employees must give a minimum of 60 days of notice of a mass layof f, and failure to do so will entitle you to legally protected severance payIssues to keep in mind when navigating severanceIf your employer has a professional HR person on staff, consider utilizing them to get your questions regarding severance pay answered (HR professionals are trained to handle employee issues with discretion). Also, keep in mind that severance pay is short-term financial guidanceand its subject to taxation since its considered incomeso having additional savings or alternate means of financial support to help you should you get fired would be a wise plan. Furthermore, acceptance of severance usually requires you to accept the full terms of your employers termination of your employment agreement make sure you know precisely what this entails before accepting.Getting fired is never easy, but having a solid financial planwhich may include severance payto help you make ends meet while youre unemployed can make a difficult time significantly less stressful. Know your r ights and know what youre due, and youll be putting yourself at your best possible advantage.