What you deserve when you leave a job

If you are going to leave your job, no matter you like or not, you should make sure something before you go.



Severance Pay

Although not all employers are required to provide severance pay to employees who are fired without fault of their own, there are indeed some employers offer one or two month's salary. Some employers may be more generous to long-term employees by basing severance pay on the length of the employee's service to the company; a typical formula is one or two weeks of pay for every year of employment.

If employers promised to do so in the following situation, they must legally keep it:

a written contract stating that the employer will pay you severance

• a promise of severance pay in an employee handbook or manual

• a long history of the company's paying severance to other employees in your position, or

• an oral promise to pay you severance -- although you may run into difficulties proving the promise existed.

A severance package can include more than just money. If you are in a position to negotiate a package (perhaps your termination is questionable and your employer wants to keep you from going to court), consider asking for these other benefits: Insurance benefits, uncontested unemployment compensation. outplacement services and references.



Final Paycheck

Many states have laws that specify when departing employees must be given their final paycheck. Often, the outcome depends on whether you are leaving because you quit or because you were fired or laid off.

For example, in some states, employees must be given their final paycheck immediately or within a certain number of hours if they are terminated or laid off, but not until the next scheduled payday if they quit. Some of these state laws also specify whether your accrued, but unused, vacation pay must be included in your final paycheck. For more information, contact your state's labor department.

Health Insurance

Workers whose employment is terminated involuntarily from September 1, 2008, through December 31, 2009 may qualify for a subsidy of 65% of the cost of COBRA premiums, for up to nine months of coverage. However, workers who are eligible for COBRA for other reasons -- for example, because they quit -- can't get the subsidy. For more information on the subsidy, see New COBRA Rules: Stimulus Package Subsidizes Continued Health Insurance.

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