Losing a job is a disagreeable experience for anyone, to put it mildly. Even executive level employees find the experience unsettling and even painful. Many emotions rise to the surface during this time, and these feelings can have a harmful effect on your final severance package.
Before going further, we want to encourage all C-Level executives in the Detroit region to seek legal advice before signing any employment contract, including a severance agreement. This is the best way to ensure that your rights and your needs remain at the forefront of any employment negotiation.
We like to encourage our executive clients to develop an overall picture of their employment in a company by looking back at their accomplishments. This includes the length of time they have faithfully served a company. It also includes their contributions to the company in areas of service, innovation, creativity and overall success.
Question yourself about what the sum of your work and accomplishments is worth to you. Perhaps more importantly, what overall value did you bring to the company? These questions and others like them are crucial in acquiring a satisfactory termination package. When you have dedicated a portion of your life to helping a company achieve success, then you deserve to be compensated accordingly should the employment come to an end.
The bottom line is this: Don’t let your emotions over losing an important job cause you to sign a severance agreement in haste. Instead, ask a lawyer to look over the package to make sure it is fair, balanced and considers all of your contributions. Please visit our web pages on employment contracts and severance agreements if you need more information.