How can I ask to be laid off with severance pay?

Get Legal Help Today

Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

How can I ask to be laid off with severance pay?

I started working for this company 6
months ago. I manage a territory for
sales and the company stopped
servicing most of my area, cutting my
territory down to 1/3 of what it was.
Now they want to change my title to
increase my sales goal 3 fold. So
they’re reducing my territory while
increasing my sales budget. I want to
ask them to lay me off and give my
territory to my colleague, whose area
was also reduced. They will save
money on my salary.

How can I ask to me laid off?
Can I request severance? If so, how
and how much?
Can I refuse the job title change and
what would be the repercussion?

Asked on March 23, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Indiana

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 7 years ago | Contributor

There is no set or recommended way to ask to be laid off--it depends on your manager(s) personality(ies) and your relationship with him/her/them. 
You can *request* severance--anyone can ask for anything--but they have no legal obligation to provide it. Except when already guaranteed by a written contract, severance is purely voluntary in this country. What you can do is if you are terminated or laid off, or if you do resign/quit, if the company wants something from you (your help during a transition; you to stay for a few more weeks or months, while they recruit to replace you; your agreement to keep information confidential or not disparage them; etc.) you make that contingent upon receiving severance--i.e. if they should want something from you, they can pay for it.
If you refuse a job change, you can be fired "for cause"--for insubordination and/or not following intructions--which means you would not be eligible for unemployment benefits. An employee has NO right to refuse a change in title, duties, job, etc. unless he or she has a contract giving him or her that right.


IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.

Get Legal Help Today

Find the right lawyer for your legal issue.

secured lock Secured with SHA-256 Encryption