How to Ask for a Severance Package (And Actually Get One)

The meeting where you're told you're being laid off is one of the most disorienting moments in a professional career. HR has done this dozens of times. You're doing it for the first time in years, maybe in your life. They hand you a packet and tell you to sign.

What most people don't know: that first offer is rarely the final offer. Severance packages are negotiable more often than employers let on, and the leverage you have in that room is real — if you know what it is and how to use it.

Here's how to ask for a severance package in a way that actually moves the number.

Don't Sign at the Meeting

This is the most important rule, and the most commonly violated one. The shock of being laid off makes it tempting to just sign and get out of the room. Resist that.

In the US, if you're over 40, federal law (the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act) gives you 21 days to review any agreement that asks you to waive age discrimination claims, plus 7 days to revoke after signing. Even if you're under 40, most companies expect you to take the packet home and review it. Signing on the spot signals you haven't read it carefully — and it forfeits your negotiating window.

Saying "I'd like to review this with my partner (or my attorney)" is a complete sentence. It isn't confrontational. HR has heard it a thousand times. Take the time.

Calculate Your Baseline Before You Counter

Before you counter any offer, you need to know what the floor is. That floor is different depending on where you work.

US: There is no federal requirement for severance pay, except under the WARN Act (which mandates 60-day notice or equivalent pay for mass layoffs at companies with 100+ employees). Standard practice is one to two weeks per year of service. If the offer is below that, you're being low-balled.

Canada: This is where it gets significant. Provincial Employment Standards Acts set statutory minimums, but common law entitlements through court precedent are often three to five times higher. Courts use Bardal factors — your age, how long you've worked there, your seniority, and how hard it will be to find a comparable role — to set the "reasonable notice" period. A 10-year senior manager in Ontario, for example, could be owed 12 to 20 months under common law, even if the statutory minimum is only 8 weeks. If you're only offered the statutory minimum in Canada, consult an employment lawyer before signing. Many offer free initial consultations.

UK: Statutory redundancy pay (for employees with 2+ years of service) is calculated using age brackets and years of service, capped at £21,570 total (2025/26). Many employers offer "enhanced redundancy pay" above the statutory minimum, especially to avoid tribunal risk. The statutory amount is a floor. Also: UK employers are required to contribute approximately £500 toward your legal fees for reviewing a settlement agreement — use that money and see a solicitor.

Australia: The National Employment Standards set a sliding scale — 4 weeks for 1 to 2 years of service, up to 16 weeks for 9 to 10 years. Employees earning above the High Income Threshold (approximately $175,000 in 2025/26) or those not covered by a Modern Award may have different protections. If the redundancy wasn't a "genuine redundancy" — if your role still exists, just with a different name or given to someone else — you may have an unfair dismissal claim regardless of the payout.

New Zealand: No statutory redundancy pay. What you're owed depends entirely on your employment agreement. If your contract has a redundancy clause, enforce it. If it doesn't, you're entitled to proper notice and process (good faith consultation is legally required), but not necessarily extra pay.

Singapore: MOM guidelines recommend two weeks to one month of salary per year of service for employees with 2+ years of tenure. These are non-binding but culturally expected, and deviating from them creates reputational and regulatory scrutiny for the employer. You can reference the Tripartite Advisory on Responsible Retrenchment directly in your negotiation.

What to Actually Say

Once you've reviewed the offer and done your research, you need to make a counter. This doesn't require confrontation — it requires being clear.

A simple approach: "I've reviewed the package. Based on my [X years] of service and the value I've contributed, I was hoping we could discuss adjusting the severance to [X weeks/months]. Is there flexibility there?"

You don't need a detailed speech. You need a number and a reason.

What gives you leverage to push for more: - Protected class status. If you're over 40, or if there's any pattern suggesting the layoff was based on age, race, gender, disability, or other protected characteristics, the company has increased legal exposure. HR is aware of this. You don't need to threaten a lawsuit — your membership in a protected class is implicit leverage. - Procedural failures. Was the consultation process followed? Were you given proper notice? In the UK and NZ especially, procedural failures during redundancy are grounds for employment tribunal claims. - Non-compete scope. If you're being asked to sign a non-compete or non-solicitation clause, that restriction has real economic value to the company. A broad, long-duration non-compete should cost them more. - Whistleblowing context. If you've ever raised compliance, safety, or ethics concerns — formally or informally — that context changes the risk calculus for the company.

Negotiate Beyond the Cash

Most employees negotiate only the number of weeks. There's a longer list of items that are negotiable and often easier to get than cash:

Garden leave vs. PILON. Garden leave means you stay on the payroll with full benefits (including health insurance and any vesting) during your notice period, while not working. Payment in lieu of notice (PILON) is a lump sum. Garden leave is preferable if stock is vesting or health coverage timing matters.

Equity. If you have unvested stock options or RSUs, ask for accelerated vesting — especially if you're close to a cliff. Standard post-termination exercise windows are 90 days; ask for one to two years, particularly for ISOs that you may not have the cash to exercise immediately.

Outplacement. A budget for career coaching or resume writing (typically $1,000 to $5,000 at mid-career). This is low-cost for the company and has real value for you.

Reference letters and LinkedIn recommendations. Get a written commitment to a neutral or positive reference — and ideally a specific LinkedIn recommendation from your manager — before you sign anything. After the signature, this is much harder to obtain.

Extended health coverage. In the US specifically, ask whether the company will continue paying employer contributions to your health insurance for the duration of the severance period. This can save you thousands compared to COBRA premiums.

Equipment. Asking to keep a company laptop that's more than a year old is often approved with minimal pushback. It's depreciated on their books, but it's real value for you.

The Timing of Severance and Tax

In the US, severance is fully taxable as ordinary income. If you're being offered a large lump sum, and the layoff happens in November or December, ask whether it can be paid in two installments across two tax years. This doesn't change the total amount — it changes which year you pay tax on it, which can matter significantly if your income will be much lower next year.

In the UK, the first £30,000 of severance pay is tax-free, but only if it's classified correctly. Statutory redundancy pay is generally included in this tax-free bucket. Pay in lieu of notice is taxable. If you're receiving a large settlement, ask HR or a solicitor to confirm exactly how each component is classified.

The information asymmetry in a layoff meeting is real. HR handles these situations routinely. You're handling it once. The best way to close that gap is to know your rights and your leverage before you walk into the room — and to ask for time before you sign anything.

The Job Loss Survival Guide includes country-specific severance benchmarks, negotiation scripts you can adapt to your situation, and a full breakdown of what's negotiable beyond the cash number. If you're currently sitting on a severance offer you're not sure about, use it before you sign.