The package is written. Your signature is the only thing they still need.
What to Say When HR Offers Severance
When HR offers severance, say as little as possible and commit to nothing: thank them, ask for the full package in writing, and name a date you'll respond by. "I'd like to review this in writing before I respond - I'll come back to you by Friday." That single sentence protects more value than any clever counter, because everything about the meeting is engineered for a same-day signature. The severance negotiation starts after you leave the room, on your timeline.
The offer in front of you is a company's opening position, drafted by people who negotiated it internally before you walked in. It is almost never the ceiling - and the only way to find the ceiling is to not sign at the floor.
The situation
The severance meeting is deliberately disorienting: it's short, it's scripted, there's a folder sliding across the table, and you're processing the loss of your job in real time. HR expects shock-compliance or anger - the script handles both, and handles composed patience worst. You have more time than the room implies: review periods are normal, and in the US, if you're 40 or older, age-discrimination law typically requires 21 days to consider a release (45 in group layoffs). Whatever your jurisdiction, "I'll respond after I've reviewed it in writing" is a professional answer no reasonable employer can hold against you.
Once you're out of the room, the negotiation actually starts: read what's being traded (severance is usually pay in exchange for a release of claims - that's why it's negotiable), price your tenure, and decide which lever matters most. The biggest levers usually sit outside the headline weeks: the healthcare bridge, equity vesting dates, the reference letter, and the departure narrative are frequently more movable and worth more.
Say this
- I'd like to review this in writing before I respond - I'll come back to you by Friday.
- Help me understand how the number was calculated.
- Given my tenure, I'd like [X] weeks - and I'm flexible on the rest.
- I want to land this amicably - what would you need from me to get there?
Commonly one to two weeks of pay per year of service
A widely used starting heuristic, not a rule - seniority, tenure, and the company's exposure all move it. The healthcare bridge, equity vesting, and the reference are often more negotiable than the headline weeks.
How it sounds
The meeting. The folder is on the table and the package has just been read to you.
Why this works: Calm, no commitment, and a self-imposed deadline - it signals you'll engage seriously without accepting the room's urgency, and 'in writing' forces the actual terms onto paper where you can price them.
The follow-up call, after you've reviewed the agreement.
Why this works: One ask, tied to tenure, with the easy concession ('I'm not asking to reopen anything else') attached - you're making it cheap for HR to say yes to the part that matters.
HR pushes back with the policy line.
Why this works: Labeling the constraint instead of fighting it, then redirecting to levers the policy doesn't govern. Most 'policy ceilings' cover base weeks and nothing else.
What not to say
Don't vent. Anything angry said in that meeting makes the company more cautious and the negotiation colder - and the person delivering the news usually didn't make the decision. If you feel the heat rising, name it and close: "This is a lot to take in. I'll respond once I've reviewed everything."
Don't say "that's fine" or "that seems fair" - even reflexively, even to be polite. You're ratifying the floor. And don't negotiate any specific number in the first meeting; you haven't seen the agreement's fine print, and an early counter anchors you before you know what the release actually covers.
Try it against someone who pushes back
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Common mistakes
- Signing in the meeting. The same-day signature is the company's best case and your worst one - no competent employer expects it.
- Treating the first number as the ceiling. Severance is pay for a release of claims; the release is worth something, which is why there's room.
- Negotiating before you've read the agreement. Non-competes, non-disparagement, and clawbacks hide in the fine print and are levers too.
- Asking for 'more' instead of a number. 'I'd like twelve weeks given my tenure' moves; 'is there any flexibility?' invites a token bump.
- Forgetting the non-cash levers - healthcare end date, vesting cliff, reference letter, departure narrative. Often easier to grant than weeks.
Questions people ask
Can severance actually be negotiated?
Often, yes. Severance is usually consideration for signing a release of legal claims - the company is buying certainty, and purchases get negotiated. The realistic wins are usually weeks of pay (modestly), the healthcare bridge, equity treatment, and the terms of the release itself. Companies with rigid layoff matrices move less; individual separations move more.
Do I have to respond the same day?
No, and you shouldn't. Review periods are standard professional practice, and if you're 40+ in the US, the age-discrimination release typically can't be valid without giving you 21 days to consider it, plus a 7-day window to revoke even after signing. A company that insists on a same-day signature is telling you something about the agreement.
Will they withdraw the offer if I try to negotiate?
The company wants the release signed, and a fight is the thing they're paying to avoid - a professional, specific counter almost never blows up the offer. What can sour it: public anger, legal threats you don't mean, or re-opening every term at once. One or two asks, calmly.
Should I get a lawyer?
You don't need a lawyer to run the negotiation for you - the asks in this guide are yours to make. But an hour of employment-lawyer review of the agreement itself is cheap insurance, and it's essential if there's a non-compete, unusual clawbacks, or you believe the termination itself may be unlawful. If you're waiving real claims, price them before you sign them away.
Practice the real thing
The techniques this uses
Drill it until it's a reflex
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