Severance Agreement

Definition

A legal contract outlining what an employee receives when laid off, including pay, benefits continuation, and various restrictions like non-compete clauses.

Example Usage

The severance agreement offered four weeks of pay per year of service, plus three months of health insurance continuation.

Origin

Employment law terminology formalized in the 1980s-90s.

Fun Fact

Severance agreements often require you to waive your right to sue, in exchange for money that's often far less than you'd win in a wrongful termination suit.

Source: Employment law terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

broadbanding

A compensation strategy that consolidates multiple narrow pay grades into fewer, wider salary ranges. Gives companies more flexibility to pay people whatever they want while claiming they follow a structure.

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Intermediate

rotational

Describing a work program where employees rotate through different positions or departments, theoretically to build diverse skills but often to prevent anyone from getting too comfortable. In mechanics and physics, it refers to anything involving spinning or rotating motion. HR departments love rotational programs because they sound developmental while actually just shuffling people around every few months.

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Beginner

Upskilling

The corporate initiative of teaching employees new skills so the company doesn't have to hire people who already have them. It sounds empowering but usually means watching 40 hours of training videos at 2x speed while also doing your normal job.

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monitoring

The systematic observation and tracking of employees' activities, performance, or communications, ostensibly for productivity and security purposes. Modern monitoring ranges from benign time-tracking to dystopian keystroke logging and AI-powered webcam analysis. It's either "accountability" or "Big Brother" depending on which side of the surveillance you're on.

👥 Human Resources

Intermediate

Bench (The Bench)

Experienced employees who are temporarily without a project assignment, sitting on the bench like substitute players waiting to get back in the game.

👥 Human Resources

Beginner

internal mobility

The movement of employees between roles, departments, or locations within the same organization. Companies love promoting it as a benefit while simultaneously blocking transfers to keep you trapped in your current role.

👥 Human Resources

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