Severance Novels & Stories

The man adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat. “As you know, for months now we’ve been struggling with low revenue, and we need to reduce staff,” he explained, motioning for her to come in and sit. “You deserve a better severance, but we’re about to declare bankruptcy. That’s why I recommend you accept what we’re offering. In return, I’ll give you a letter of recommendation to another corporation. It won’t be the same position, but you could work as an assistant,” he offered. Myriam exhaled sharply. What her boss said about the crisis was true, so she didn’t object and accepted the letter of recommendation.

Simple, right? She followed up. [Worst case, just own it. Say that pulling back your resignation was a move to get laid off and secure the severance. Without it, you're stuck covering medical bills and meds on your own. That wraps the whole thing up.] She added, [You were beating around the bush before because we were strictly professional, and it was hard to lay everything out. But things have changed now.]

"We can. And we are. It's in the contract. Any severance is contingent on no criminal wrongdoing." "I haven't been charged with anything." "Yet. But when you are and let's be honest, you will be—the severance is void." He hung up. So now I'm broke. Unemployed. Under federal investigation. Separated from my daughter. And waiting for a woman who probably isn't going to call. I should give up. Should accept reality. Should focus on what's left of my life instead of chasing what's gone. But I can't. Because if Esmeralda doesn't come back, what's the point of any of this?

*** *** I got an email the very next morning about being let go from my job. I stare at the email. It's simple and brief. I am no longer required to come in from tomorrow, and my severance check will come in the mail. The amount is decent enough to last me a couple of months. I didn't even know I was liable for a severance check. I feel hollow inside. I should have expected this. After all, it was Morris who got me this job in the first place. No wonder he wants to take it away from me. He's no longer getting what he wants, so he obviously wants to make me pay for it.

She was 5'4" tall, and weighed exactly 108 lbs that very morning. She had long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a body most women would kill for. Jaw dropping 34D breasts, a 22 inch waist, and 32 inch hips turned heads wherever she went. Which was nowhere for the moment. Damn her luck. What a waste. * * * Harold Payne was pacing his office, oblivious to his daughter's tantrum. He had bigger things on his mind. Getting laid off after 21 years wasn't that bad. He had a good pension, and he'd worked a lot of overtime in the previous two years, upping his final wages. He'd gotten a decent severance package on top of that, 2 weeks pay per year of service, and had

That did not make it feel like nothing. I read it at Robin's kitchen table with a coffee going cold beside me. The language was formal and thorough, the kind of document that had been prepared carefully by people who were good at making the removal of a person sound procedural rather than personal. Effective immediately. “The board resolution had passed unanimously, with the severance terms detailed in the attached schedule and all company property required to be returned within five business days.” Unanimously. I sat with that word for a moment, thinking about Jenkins and Lawson and the others around that table, people I had worked alongside for years, and fe

"Ahhh I can mask my scent, it's a talent I've had since I was a child, it helps me move around freely, I'm who everyone calls the boss but my name is Gregory" "Ocean," I say holding out my hand for him to shake "So tell me, what exactly are you doing in my country, Mathew believes you when you say you had nothing to do with the bomb, but please forgive me if I don't believe you're here just for a holiday", by now Lanna and Acre had noticed I wasn't alone but Mathew had popped up from out of the crowd and led them just off to the side so they were close enough to see me but far enough so we could chat without interruptions,

"What? What did I do to deserve this? You're firing me without severance pay?" "You still have a choice. You either leave messily or you leave with your dignity. You can resign on your own so another university will be able to accept you. You have good qualifications, I can attest to that. But if you're fired, it's going to be a black mark on your white sheet." "But why? What did I do wrong? I didn't miss classes, I didn't slack off or wrong anyone."

"Carol, I heard you lost your job?" Carol quickly nodded, humming in response. "Did the company offer any severance?" Mila asked. Carol shook her head and said in a resigned tone, "The company was just a small cleaning service that relied mostly on freelance gigs. I never had a contract, so there's no severance pay." Mila turned to Nathan. "Nate, did you hear that?" "Got it. I'll make sure someone follows up on this. We'll address severance pay, penalties, and restructuring. Nothing will slip through the cracks," Nathan responded.

“You’re fired. You don’t need to come back. Your final paycheck and severance will be deposited into your account.” “What? But… why?” She was still processing what was happening. Miss Xander hadn’t been home in the past few days, but why was she suddenly being fired? She wanted to ask more, but looking at William’s cold, emotionless face, she swallowed her words. “My things are still inside—” “You’ll be reimbursed in cash along with your pay.” “Oh, oh… okay then.” Nodding quickly, she stepped into the elevator and left without another word. *