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Chief
This shouldn’t be news to people but it is.
Food/bar recos in CHS?
Thoughts on possible LA?
Chief
What agency did the Absolut campaign?
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You say you need to think about the terms before signing, ask to take the paperwork back to your desk or to a private space so you can make a few calls.
Then you cal you spouse or whatever and strategize as to what is important to you and how you want to play. Then you need to be specific and say why you get more - like “last lay-off severance was x,” or “i need y to cover my impending gall bladder surgery that my boss knew about” or “when hired I was told I could expect x if there was a lay-off, can we get that person up here to talk about the change in terms?”
Medium hardball is saying things like: why was I selected, is it because I am a woman or because I’m pan sexual?” Or “My reviews have been excellent so I’m surprised I was chosen in this reduction, can you explain?”
Hardball is calling a lawyer and with their blessing saying things like: “my attorney feels that this might be payback for x event in recent history” or “there’s concern this is retaliatory” or “statements have been made suggesting this is personal and not a purely professional decision and my attorney thinks we should take a time out to look into that further.”
See edited post above. I’ve done this once, it was my spouse and slightly different as his firm was being bought and he was told to sign on that day or forgo a large bonus. It was messy. We called a lawyer, he refused to sign, saying first he needed to consult me, then saying his attorney said not to sign. He dragged it out overnight, had a plan, had legal language and walked away with his bonus.
But you have to have an argument. It just can’t be that you don’t want to be laid off. You have to have enough to go on to be a pain in the butt to get them to move. And then it’s still a maybe.
One very low hanging negotiation is over when you sign. They often put pressure on u to sign whatever exploding offer they put in front of u. Don’t ever do that. Tell them u don’t sign anything without reading it. Then, if u think the offer is basically fair (u aren’t being fired unfairly, no ageism, sexism, retaliation, etc) but a little stingy (9 weeks severance for 7 years service? Fuck me very much), wait 24 hours and then tell them u will sign TODAY if severance is bumped up by a few weeks. And it they don’t agree, you intend to take the full 45 days they are legally mandated to provide to consider their offer.
Chances r quite good you will get a little more severance than the original offer.
A lawyer ??? This is layoffs not termination. Who are you people?
Well, I’m someone who wants more $/benefits. The $500 I paid to a lawyer the last time I got laid off was well worth it for the extra cash.
I would suggest that you wait and follow up later. But always ask for a few more weeks and additional insurance coverage. As others have stated, include some rationale like your years at the agency or your performance on a specific account or client relationship. I’ve had some success in getting at least a little more. It can’t hurt to ask. What are they going to do...fire you? (It’s kinda too late for that.)
Do you need to hire a lawyer? How successful have people been when they say “no, that severance isn’t enough” or “I want to keep insurance through the year” right then and there?
Never really heard how this has worked out for people.
I would always hire a lawyer. They take you more seriously that way.