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I had a similar situation back in 2009. I gave my resignation to my boss on a Friday and he said I should hold off until Monday. Monday came around and they la

by byoung2 10y ago

I had a similar situation back in 2009. I gave my resignation to my boss on a Friday and he said I should hold off until Monday. Monday came around and they laid off most the the dev staff. Instead of having to work for 2 more weeks I got 6 weeks severance and got to leave that day. I already had a job lined up to start 2 weeks later so I booked a week in Cancun in the interim. They make you sign a paper that says you resigned, so you can't claim unemployment, but the severance sounds better than unemployment since you were leaving anyway. Negotiate that severance, too...they offered me 4 weeks at first but I asked for 2 more and got it.

NonEUCitizen 10y ago
I have not heard of layoffs making you sign paperwork that you resigned. More common is they ask you to sign paperwork that you won't sue them, and give you more severance payment if you sign it. You can still claim unemployment as you were laid off. But check your paperwork.
- pmorici 10y ago
  In the US the rate a company has to pay for unemployment insurance is linked to the number of former employees that claim unemployment after being laid off from the company. Typical rates can range from as low as less than 1% to close to 8% and when calculating the rate a company pays they look at several years of history. The exact mechanics vary by state. So it makes sense that a company might want to discourage people from claiming unemployment because it could effect their longer term costs where as a severance is a one time thing and giving a good reference to a potential new employer is free. http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de231z.pdf http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de231z.pdf
- LordKano 10y ago
  Not only have I never heard of this, it doesn't make any sense to me. Unless you will be starting a new job in two weeks, why would you forgo 26 weeks of 50% of your income in exchange for 4-6 weeks of 100%. The math just doesn't work.
  - scarface74 10y ago
    Unemployment maxes out in most states between $350-$450 a week.
bestnameever 10y ago
Be careful negotiating severance if your company does not like you or has a poor culture. Making a counter offer can be taken as a refusal of their offer of severance. Companies can't just not offer you severance if they make a habit of it so they may take advantage of being able to deny you the option. I am not a lawyer but I know people who have lost their option of a severance simply by trying to negotiate for a better offer.
- byoung2 10y ago
  In this case they were more afraid of their unemployment insurance rate going up if 20% of the company claimed unemployment. It was much cheaper to pay an extra 2 weeks. You're right you have to know the company, and in this case it was a great company with nice founders but the economy was tanking adyer the 2008 crash so they needed to cut costs.

by byoung2 10y ago

NonEUCitizen 10y ago

I have not heard of layoffs making you sign paperwork that you resigned. More common is they ask you to sign paperwork that you won't sue them, and give you more severance payment if you sign it. You can still claim unemployment as you were laid off. But check your paperwork.

pmorici 10y ago
In the US the rate a company has to pay for unemployment insurance is linked to the number of former employees that claim unemployment after being laid off from the company. Typical rates can range from as low as less than 1% to close to 8% and when calculating the rate a company pays they look at several years of history. The exact mechanics vary by state. So it makes sense that a company might want to discourage people from claiming unemployment because it could effect their longer term costs where as a severance is a one time thing and giving a good reference to a potential new employer is free. http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de231z.pdf http://www.edd.ca.gov/pdf_pub_ctr/de231z.pdf
LordKano 10y ago
Not only have I never heard of this, it doesn't make any sense to me. Unless you will be starting a new job in two weeks, why would you forgo 26 weeks of 50% of your income in exchange for 4-6 weeks of 100%. The math just doesn't work.
- scarface74 10y ago
  Unemployment maxes out in most states between $350-$450 a week.

bestnameever 10y ago

Be careful negotiating severance if your company does not like you or has a poor culture. Making a counter offer can be taken as a refusal of their offer of severance. Companies can't just not offer you severance if they make a habit of it so they may take advantage of being able to deny you the option. I am not a lawyer but I know people who have lost their option of a severance simply by trying to negotiate for a better offer.

byoung2 10y ago
In this case they were more afraid of their unemployment insurance rate going up if 20% of the company claimed unemployment. It was much cheaper to pay an extra 2 weeks. You're right you have to know the company, and in this case it was a great company with nice founders but the economy was tanking adyer the 2008 crash so they needed to cut costs.