Ask in writing, ask for two or three specific things rather than “more”, tie each request to a concrete reason, and keep every word of it professional. Do not threaten litigation, do not let the deadline lapse while you wait for a reply, and remember that the cash figure is often the least flexible item on the list. COBRA months, a prorated bonus, PTO, reference language, and the scope of a noncompete are frequently available when the money is not.
First, understand what you are negotiating with
Severance is a transaction. The employer is buying something specific: your release of legal claims, your silence, sometimes your agreement not to compete or to recruit former colleagues, and often your cooperation during a handover. Your leverage comes from the value of what you are selling and the cost to them of not closing the deal.
That framing matters, because it explains why the usual instinct is backwards. People tend to argue about what they deserve. Employers respond to what a clean, quick, final resolution is worth. The most effective requests are the ones that make agreement easy and cheap rather than the ones that make the strongest moral case.
What tends to strengthen a request
- Long tenure, especially where a flat number was applied across an entire layoff.
- A strong, documented performance record with no discipline on file.
- A position genuinely eliminated, rather than a performance narrative.
- An unusually broad release, or new restrictive covenants you did not previously have.
- Bonus or equity that you have substantially earned and the agreement does not address.
- A contractual or policy entitlement the offer appears to fall short of.
- Genuine knowledge transfer the employer still needs from you.
What tends to weaken it
- A recent, documented performance improvement plan or written warnings.
- Very short tenure, where the floor rather than a formula is setting the number.
- A large, standardized layoff with genuinely uniform terms and no exceptions process.
- An offer already well above the usual benchmark for your tenure and level.
An honest read of both lists is worth more than optimism. The free assessment produces exactly this breakdown for your own situation, including the factors working against you, because walking into a negotiation with an inflated view of your position is how people talk themselves out of a reasonable settlement.
The six steps
1. Find the deadline, and give yourself room
Note the date the agreement must be signed by. If you are 40 or older and being asked to release age discrimination claims, federal law generally provides at least 21 days to consider it, 45 days if the separation is part of a group program, plus 7 days after signing in which you may revoke. Plan to send your request early enough that a reply and a revised document still fit comfortably inside the window. Never allow the deadline to pass while you are waiting to hear back.
2. Price the entire package
Total the cash, the COBRA contribution, any PTO payout, bonus, and equity treatment. You cannot negotiate sensibly against a number you have not calculated, and the exercise frequently reveals that the gap between the offer and a good outcome is smaller, or larger, than it felt. The calculator does this in about a minute.
3. Read the documents you already signed
Your offer letter, employment agreement, any severance policy, and every equity grant agreement. People routinely negotiate for something they were already entitled to, and occasionally discover a contractual severance provision that changes the conversation entirely.
4. Choose two or three specific asks
Not “more severance”. Ask for twelve weeks instead of six. Ask for four months of employer-paid COBRA. Ask for the prorated bonus for the nine months you worked. Specific requests get evaluated; vague ones get declined. Three is about the limit before a request starts to read as a list of demands.
Set your opening request above your target, but not absurdly so. A common approach is to open at roughly double when the offer is clearly below benchmark, and around 1.5 times when it is already in range. Anchor it to a reason, such as your tenure at the employer’s own stated formula, rather than to a number you picked.
5. Send it in writing
Email, addressed to whoever sent the agreement, usually HR. Writing beats a phone call for four reasons: it creates a record, it forces precision, it gets forwarded intact to the person who actually holds the approval authority, and it spares you an unplanned live negotiation while you are still absorbing the news.
6. Follow up once, then close it out
Give it a few business days. One polite follow-up is appropriate; a second is counterproductive. When something is agreed, make sure it appears in the signed agreement itself. A promise in an email thread is not the document you will be holding if there is a disagreement six months from now.
Have the letter written for you
The free assessment generates a negotiation letter built from your actual situation: your tenure, your record, the specific gaps in the offer, and the items most likely to be available. You choose the tone, edit anything you want, and send it yourself.
What to ask for, ranked by how often it is available
| Item | How often it moves | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Employer-paid COBRA months | Often | Modest cost, different budget line, easy to approve |
| Agreed reference language | Often | Costs nothing and is usually seen as reasonable |
| Mutual non-disparagement | Often | Symmetry is a hard request to refuse on principle |
| Keeping a laptop or phone, outplacement | Often | Low value to them, real value to you |
| PTO payout where policy is unclear | Sometimes | May already be required by state law; worth checking first |
| Prorated bonus | Sometimes | Depends on the plan terms and how much of the year you worked |
| Narrowing a noncompete or non-solicit | Sometimes | Legal will engage if the ask is narrow and specific |
| More weeks of cash | Less often | Most visible, most precedent-setting, most scrutinised |
| Equity acceleration | Less often | Governed by the plan document and often genuinely inflexible |
The practical implication is worth stating plainly: if you only ask for money, you are asking for the one thing employers are most reluctant to change. A request that pairs a cash ask with two items that are easy to grant is far more likely to come back with something in it.
A structure that works
Keep it under a page. This is the shape of a request that gets forwarded and approved rather than argued with.
- Thank them. One line. Acknowledge the offer and the situation.
- Signal good faith. Make clear you want to resolve this, not fight about it.
- State your position factually. Tenure, role, record. No adjectives.
- Make the specific requests. Numbered, with a short reason for each.
- Say what happens if they agree. You will sign promptly.
- Close warmly. Leave the relationship intact.
A short worked example, for a twelve-year employee offered six weeks:
Thank you for sending the separation agreement, and for the time you took to walk me through it on Tuesday. I appreciate that this was not a decision about my performance.
I would like to resolve this quickly and amicably, and I am hoping we can adjust a few terms before I sign. After twelve years with the company, most recently as a senior analyst, with consistently strong reviews and no performance concerns on record, I would ask you to consider three changes:
1. Increasing the severance from 6 weeks to 16 weeks, which reflects the company’s stated practice of allowing for length of service.
2. Four months of employer-paid COBRA premiums, so that my family has continuous coverage during the search.
3. Payment of the prorated 2026 bonus for the nine months of the performance year I worked.If the company can accommodate these, I am ready to sign and return the agreement immediately. I am grateful for my time here and want this to end well for both of us.
Note what is absent: no accusation, no mention of a lawyer, no suggestion of a claim, no emotional argument about loyalty. The letter is easy to say yes to, which is the entire objective.
Mistakes that cost people money
- Threatening to sue. It converts a routine HR approval into a legal matter, hardens the position, and often ends the informal conversation entirely. If you genuinely believe you have a claim, that is a reason to talk to an employment attorney, not to say so yourself in an email.
- Negotiating out loud in the termination meeting. You are not at your best, and you have not read the document. Say you will review it and respond in writing.
- Asking for “more”. Unspecific requests get unspecific answers, and the answer is usually no.
- Missing the deadline. Waiting for a reply is not an extension. If it is getting close, ask explicitly for more time in writing.
- Signing before checking the equity terms. For anyone with meaningful unvested equity, this is the most expensive mistake available.
- Accepting a verbal promise. If it is not in the signed agreement, it is not in the agreement.
- Doing it alone when the stakes are high. If there is a lot of money at issue, or facts suggesting discrimination or retaliation, an employment attorney will usually recover their fee several times over.
When to bring in an employment attorney
The assessment on this site is designed for the common case: a straightforward layoff and a standard agreement, where the question is whether the number is reasonable. Some situations are not that, and it is worth being clear about which.
- Your termination closely followed a complaint to HR, a report of misconduct, a protected leave, or an accommodation request.
- You believe the decision related to age, race, sex, pregnancy, disability, religion, national origin, or another protected characteristic.
- The agreement contains a noncompete that would genuinely prevent you from working in your field.
- You have unvested equity or deferred compensation worth a substantial sum.
- You are an executive with a contract, particularly one with change-in-control provisions.
- There are unpaid wages, unpaid commissions, or a disputed bonus.
In those cases the assessment will say the circumstance may warrant review. It is not a substitute for advice from a lawyer licensed in your state, and it does not pretend to be.
Frequently asked questions
How much more should I ask for?
A common approach is to open at roughly double the offer when it is clearly below the usual one-to-two-weeks-per-year benchmark, and at about 1.5 times when it is already within range. Tie the number to a reason rather than picking it, and expect to settle somewhere between the offer and the request.
Should I negotiate by email or on a call?
Email. It creates a record, forces you to be specific, gets forwarded intact to whoever can approve it, and avoids an unplanned live negotiation. A conversation afterwards is fine, but the substance should exist in writing first.
Can they withdraw the offer because I asked?
It is uncommon but possible where severance is not contractually owed. The risk rises with the temperature of the request. A professional, specific letter with no accusations and no litigation threat keeps it low, and you should never let the deadline pass while waiting for a response.
I already said yes verbally. Is it too late?
Usually not. Until you have signed the agreement, there is generally still room to raise something, and if you have signed and a revocation period applies, that period exists precisely so you can change your mind. Raise it quickly and frame it as a clarification rather than a reversal.
Does it help to say I have another offer?
Rarely, and it can backfire. A new job reduces the employer’s sense that you need a bridge, which is often part of why they are being generous. The stronger arguments are your tenure, your record, and what the agreement asks you to give up.
This is general information, not legal advice. Severance.help is not a law firm and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading this page or by using the letter generator. Nothing here predicts what your employer will do, and no negotiation outcome is guaranteed. For a situation involving possible discrimination or retaliation, unpaid wages, a restrictive covenant, or a significant sum, consult an employment attorney licensed in your state.
Sources
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements, including Older Workers Benefit Protection Act consideration and revocation periods.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: severance pay is a matter of agreement between employer and employee and is not required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration: COBRA continuation coverage and permitted premium charges.