33
You're a Company Icon Being Terminated
STRATEGY
If you're a company icon being terminated, you need to use your legal leverage to get as much as you possibly can out of your former employer. There are state and federal statutes that prevent employers from discriminating based on age or seniority. And while, if they're savvy, they've probably done the minimum they need to protect themselves, that doesn't mean you're powerless. Just the threat of legal action with even a minimal chance of success is enough to make most employers blink. Employers know there are plaintiff's attorneys out there willing to take on wrongful termination suits for contingency fees, so employees won't need to pay out pocket. They, on the other hand, will be liable for legal fees and will also suffer public scorn. Besides asking for a larger severance package, look to change the terms of any termination agreement. Most such agreements have restrictive covenants which look to bar you from doing certain activities in exchange for the severance. Work to weaken these. Many of these agreements also make severance payouts mitigatable, which means that they cease if you obtain another job before they otherwise would have run out. Insist that your severance, as a former company icon, not be mitigatable. Justify the request by noting that their action will create a mountain of debt for you. Finally, if you don't get satisfaction in this conversation, don't give up. There's no reason that a company icon like yourself can't demand a face‐to‐face with someone higher up. Ironically, the higher up you go the more you're likely to get.
TACTICS
- Attitude: Put the job behind you as soon as possible. From the moment you're given the bad news your goal is to do everything you can to get as much severance as possible.
- Preparation: If you sense there is some turbulence in the organization check the employee manual to see what the standard severance package is for employees.
- Timing: You'll have no control over the timing. While most terminations are done on Mondays, terminations of company icons often take place on Fridays to minimize the discussions that will take place among staff.
- Behavior: Be as businesslike as possible. Do or say nothing about your feelings for the other individuals. They are no longer your friends. They never really were.
ADAPTATIONS
This script can be modified to:
- Deal with being removed from an organization.
KEY POINTS
- Use your legal leverage to get as much as you possibly can out of your former employer.
- Besides asking for a larger severance package, look to change the terms of any termination agreement.
- Insist that your severance, as a former company icon, not be mitigatable.
- If you don't get satisfaction in this conversation, don't give up. There's no reason that a company icon can't demand a face‐to‐face with someone higher up.