Do I have to take the package?
September 19, 2015 6:35 AM Subscribe
Laid off in yet another tech company reinvention. Got a standard package, COBRA paid if I take the package and I am eligible (married with spouse and insurance so I'm not). Lump sum equiv of three months pay. Resume service help, eligible for rehire, etc. as I'm over forty, I got the little list that shows its not age discrimination.
Do I have to take it? Are these negotiable? The package is small number wise because it was shit pay when I started, and all my efforts for correct reclassification were shot down or put off for six months over and over (started as a small company gobbled a bunch of times and reinvented a lot). Can I negotiate for more? More importantly how?
United States, at will state in a sector that's not otherwise Union represented.
Not just my position reclassified but growing my department and improving what our department was providing Was shit on at every turn. They ultimately gutted the department, decided that wouldn't work, and hired more people who said the same things I had said for five years but this time listened to them and the new department is humming along nicely. I'm pissed enough that even when they do get headcount I will NOT reapply.
Do I have to take it? Are these negotiable? The package is small number wise because it was shit pay when I started, and all my efforts for correct reclassification were shot down or put off for six months over and over (started as a small company gobbled a bunch of times and reinvented a lot). Can I negotiate for more? More importantly how?
United States, at will state in a sector that's not otherwise Union represented.
Not just my position reclassified but growing my department and improving what our department was providing Was shit on at every turn. They ultimately gutted the department, decided that wouldn't work, and hired more people who said the same things I had said for five years but this time listened to them and the new department is humming along nicely. I'm pissed enough that even when they do get headcount I will NOT reapply.
Hi - fellow IT worker here, global enterprise and over 40. Been through the same several times as our branch is driven by circular investment/strategy/technological cycles.
First things first. Separate your feelings against reality. Your last paragraph sums it all up. You feel like you have been fucked over while not being listened to over the past five years. Does it happen? Yes. Does it become more stressful the older you get? You bet! The cost of living never goes down and when combined with the pressures of running a house, family plus much more = not an easy time.
When it comes to the business side of things. Your negotiation power is extremely limited. That being said, if it was a small company that has "been gobbled a few times" and is successful - your most important strategic starting point is reaching out to the people you know and have worked with in order to see if it is possible to expand the severance package. HR will have already done a work up to ensure regulatory/legal compliance and a bit of extra to make sure you are out the door happy or not.
The next thing is expectations. Do some components of the severance have a cash value? For example you mention resume service help, which to me means outsourced costs to the company that you may not need. They are usually expensive for the company and may not be applicable to your situation. You should be able to say "thanks - but CV and retraining are worth X, to me it is worth an additional Y to my package".
The bottom line is to examine each item of your severance on the way out and see where the values are. Some companies will be absolute in their redundancy planning without leeway, but many others see the bottom line and are willing to compromise when confronted with real costs and justification.
Last, for what it is worth from someone that has been in the game for a long time. Take this opportunity and call a spade a spade. Use this moment to find a better place to be. No one loves work but some people love putting up with shit. Focus on the positives like not being in a situation where you have had to say the same things for five years without result. Who in their right mind would want to be in such a dysfunctional environment? Finally you have a chance to build some new bridges and acheivements. Don't let it pass by. Time goes too quickly and hopefully thankful in the aftermath you get another chance.
Best of luck and hang in there!
posted by Funmonkey1 at 9:13 AM on September 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
First things first. Separate your feelings against reality. Your last paragraph sums it all up. You feel like you have been fucked over while not being listened to over the past five years. Does it happen? Yes. Does it become more stressful the older you get? You bet! The cost of living never goes down and when combined with the pressures of running a house, family plus much more = not an easy time.
When it comes to the business side of things. Your negotiation power is extremely limited. That being said, if it was a small company that has "been gobbled a few times" and is successful - your most important strategic starting point is reaching out to the people you know and have worked with in order to see if it is possible to expand the severance package. HR will have already done a work up to ensure regulatory/legal compliance and a bit of extra to make sure you are out the door happy or not.
The next thing is expectations. Do some components of the severance have a cash value? For example you mention resume service help, which to me means outsourced costs to the company that you may not need. They are usually expensive for the company and may not be applicable to your situation. You should be able to say "thanks - but CV and retraining are worth X, to me it is worth an additional Y to my package".
The bottom line is to examine each item of your severance on the way out and see where the values are. Some companies will be absolute in their redundancy planning without leeway, but many others see the bottom line and are willing to compromise when confronted with real costs and justification.
Last, for what it is worth from someone that has been in the game for a long time. Take this opportunity and call a spade a spade. Use this moment to find a better place to be. No one loves work but some people love putting up with shit. Focus on the positives like not being in a situation where you have had to say the same things for five years without result. Who in their right mind would want to be in such a dysfunctional environment? Finally you have a chance to build some new bridges and acheivements. Don't let it pass by. Time goes too quickly and hopefully thankful in the aftermath you get another chance.
Best of luck and hang in there!
posted by Funmonkey1 at 9:13 AM on September 19, 2015 [3 favorites]
One detail about COBRA. You aren't eligible for COBRA if you are enrolled in your spouse's plan at the time of the layoff, but if you are enrolled in your employer's plan and the employer is subject to COBRA, you have the right to elect COBRA regardless of your eligibility under a spouse's plan (employer could choose not to subsidize the COBRA, but you an employer can only deny COBRA if you actually become covered under another plan.
posted by Pax at 12:20 PM on September 19, 2015
posted by Pax at 12:20 PM on September 19, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by J. Wilson at 7:20 AM on September 19, 2015 [7 favorites]