Any word on severance yet?
7 replies (most recent on top)
Pretty sure anyone who has been around for 10+ years could dig up a reason to litigate…this place has been the Wild West since inception.
Don’t love the assumption people just chill while taking severance. Breathing room is subjective to each individual’s circumstances. The point someone brought up earlier isn’t that we are getting severance (yay?), but that it’s being positioned as generous - it’s standard and we are all just sick of being pandered to.
Do tell on the company that gave a year’s severance - who was it.
That is FAR from the norm - only reason that might have been done is that the employee truly had a case for wrongful termination (ie NOT a mass layoff situation) and the company wanted to protect themselves from being sued by getting the person to sign an agreement that they would not seek litigation in return for them being given that level of severance.
No company is required to give severance for layoffs. No one need feel “grateful” necessarily - being laid off sucks. But don’t kid yourself that somehow this isn’t commensurate with many severance packages offered by companies - and it is nice to at least have some breathing room for a job search before you lose all income. That’s what severances are for - not so someone can just chill for a year. Additionally, typically a severance is consider a lump payment - ie it wont get in the way of collecting unemployment on top of the severance. A note for anyone who is worried about health care once benefits run out - call your state Medicaid system before taking what the marketplace offers (“Obamacare”). At least in my state, when I was unemployed, the state health care system looked at my CURRENT income (zero) as proven by my unemployment benefits. The health care marketplace, on the other hand, looked BACKWARDS for income - meaning my options were based on what I made over the last few quarters vs my current income of zero (which included my severance from the job I was laid off from). I paid $400 bucks a month just for myself before I figured out this out. Could have saved a TON of money - and the state Medicaid ended up being even better (at zero cost) then the version I was paying $400 bucks a month for. I’m sure not every state is like this - but worth checking out the minute you get that unemployment benefit approval in hand.
Also hearing 3 weeks + 2 weeks for every year of service. That means even for the most tenured folks they are look at only ~6/7 months severance. Don't let anyone gaslight you into thinking you should be 'thankful' for anything. I know several people who have been FIRED at many different levels that got a YEARS salary. A year. After doing something egregious enough to get fired. And let's be clear - it's not easy to fire anyone these days. They have to have been bad and they are getting more than those of us that have stuck it out for 10+ years.
2 weeks per year of service is 'standard' based on research + convos....not 'generous' as positioned. 4 weeks would be more appropriate. Negotiate if you can!
hearing 3 weeks + 2 weeks per year of service, health insurance is a question mark on if they pay cobra premium, some job board to help you move on but no word on if noncompete is waived
I don't know anything for sure but those who've been with 2U for <1 year got 2 weeks pay ... "very generous"
Anyone receive additional details about the severance package? Looking for clarity around healthcare in the severance package? Is 2U covering the Cobra premium for a time or just referring former employees to the federal program?
Email about the layoffs today said:
- Competitive severance pay, which varies based on tenure and level;
- Cobra health coverage for medical, dental, vision, and mental health in the U.S.;
- Job transition support including professional outplacement services, a private job board for future opportunities at 2U, and the opportunity to participate in a list we will proactively share with other companies who are looking for talent;
- Tuition forgiveness, if applicable.