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I am currently working in NY city. My employment contract has a severance package of 6 month of salary plus benefit if the employer plans to terminate my employment.
The employer is planning to change my work status from full time to part time. Am I entitled to my 6 month severance package if I decide to accept the part time job? Is the changing of my work status considered termination of my employment?
I would like to have some advice on this before I start my negotiation with my employer.
I am currently working in NY city. My employment contract has a severance package of 6 month of salary plus benefit if the employer plans to terminate my employment.
The employer is planning to change my work status from full time to part time. Am I entitled to my 6 month severance package if I decide to accept the part time job? Is the changing of my work status considered termination of my employment?
I would like to have some advice on this before I start my negotiation with my employer.
I advise you to post this in the "Work and Employment" forum if you want more answers to your post. I also advise you to have an attorney go over your current contract.
Is the part-time job a different job altogether, or is it just reduced hours of your current job?
Unless your contract specifically states that it is for full-time employment only and anything less than full-time employment ends the contract, I do not think that changing the status to part-time employment would trigger a severance package clause because part-time employment is not termination.
If you accept the part-time job, also consider if you need a new contract or changes made to your employment contract in any way (e.g., if you receive benefits now you would want to have a contract that says you receive benefits as well for part-time employment since some employers don't offer them to part-time employees).
I do not think that changing the status to part-time employment would trigger a severance package clause because part-time employment is not termination.
I think it WOULD trigger the severance package because while it is not technically termination it is de facto termination. For example, could an employer who wished to avoid paying severance cut an empoyee to 1 hour's work per week, down from 40 hours, without that being considered a termination?
I doubt that any judge would see it that way.
What is the precise wording of your contract?
Does it have some amount you will be paid each week/year? I would think something like that is core to most employment contracts and if that amount is changed, it is clearly a contract breech.
Thanks for your reply. In my current employment contract, it states" should your position be terminated, you will be entitled at least 6 month of salary and benefit". My current position is a controller and they plan to change my position to a part time accountant position since our company has a change of the management.
One tricky part may be if you accept the new position. You may have to decline it to get the severance. But as others have said, you really need an attorney to look at this.
It really looks like your "position" as comptroller was indeed "terminated."
Like manderly said, your acceptance of the "lowly" position might jeopardize your legal position, so tread carefully.
Again though, all employment contracts mention MONEY...and I presume they are cutting your salary, right?
I think most judges will agree that "your position" WAS "terminated."
Are they offering you a new contract as "part time accountant" or just making believe there was never any employment contract at all?
Alas, I don't think this will get settled without a court's intervention...and the expenses of legal counsel.
(Friend was terminated mid-contract and got a judgement in his favor...but wound up collecting nothing but Unemployment Insurance. That's the real world.)
My past employer's headquarters were located in NYC. Every time they changed my status/classification, I got a severence. I sometimes received 2 severences within a year. Over the 3 years I worked for them, I received a total of 5 severences. Not only did I get severence payments but I also received pay increases to motivate me to accept the deals. I thought it was the weirdest thing and assumed it had something to do with NY employment laws. The greatest thing about it was that the severences were reported as regular income. When I was ultimately laid off, my unemployment was calculated with a severence creating my highest quarter. My weekly benefit rate was more than my weekly earnings while was employed (since my last classification was part-time when terminated and the severence during a full time quarter shot my unemployment earnings calculations through the roof). I laughed all the way to the bank for three years while employed and for the two years of unemployment afterwards. Best job I ever had! LOL
Thanks for your reply. In my current employment contract, it states" should your position be terminated, you will be entitled at least 6 month of salary and benefit". My current position is a controller and they plan to change my position to a part time accountant position since our company has a change of the management.
Sounds like you are being demoted and pushed out!!!
Corporate Officer to part time accountant
It seems rather clear, accept the humiliation or quit!
Happens all the time....
Of course, a new CEO would want his own people in key positions, par for the course.
Didn't you have an attorny look over your contract, prior to accepting the job? Call him/her!!
Why ask in this forum? None of these folks are attorneys, and I'd wager NONE have employment contracts!!!!
My past employer's headquarters were located in NYC. Every time they changed my status/classification, I got a severence. I sometimes received 2 severences within a year. Over the 3 years I worked for them, I received a total of 5 severences. Not only did I get severence payments but I also received pay increases to motivate me to accept the deals. I thought it was the weirdest thing and assumed it had something to do with NY employment laws. The greatest thing about it was that the severences were reported as regular income. When I was ultimately laid off, my unemployment was calculated with a severence creating my highest quarter. My weekly benefit rate was more than my weekly earnings while was employed (since my last classification was part-time when terminated and the severence during a full time quarter shot my unemployment earnings calculations through the roof). I laughed all the way to the bank for three years while employed and for the two years of unemployment afterwards. Best job I ever had! LOL
Best job???
Unemployment benefit greater than your salary???
The max unemployment is what, $500 weekly!!
You need to find a better job.....
Also, seems as if this best job found it cheaper to dump the cost of benefits and payroll taxes for your position, than the cost of the meager "serverance".
So, you really weren't getting the better of it, you only *thought* you were.....
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