Severance or separation agreement
Review a severance agreement before you sign the release
A severance agreement is a purchase. They are buying your right to sue, and often your right to speak. The money is usually the least negotiable term in the document; the release scope, the reference wording, the equity treatment and the non-disparagement clause frequently are negotiable, and almost nobody asks.
For anyone who has been laid off, made redundant, or offered a separation package.
No account needed. You see the price before paying, and the report opens immediately after.
What we check in a severance or separation agreement
Every review of this contract type runs the full checklist, then reports what it found with the clause quoted and the line number.
- What the release actually covers, and whether it reaches claims you cannot legally waive
- The consideration period and revocation window, and whether they meet statutory minimums
- Whether the payment is genuinely additional to what you are already owed
- Treatment of unvested equity, and whether the exercise window is extended
- Continuation of health cover and for how long
- Non-disparagement - whether it is mutual, and what it stops you saying
- Whether existing non-compete and non-solicit obligations are reaffirmed, released or extended
- Confidentiality of the agreement itself, and the carve-outs for regulators and lawyers
- Cooperation clauses requiring unpaid future assistance
- The agreed reference wording and who is bound to give it
Red flags we see most often
These are the specific terms that turn a routine severance or separation agreement into an expensive one.
- Severance offered in exchange for a release, where the amount equals what your contract already entitles you to
- A one-way non-disparagement clause binding only you
- A new or extended non-compete introduced in the separation agreement
- No carve-out permitting protected disclosures to regulators
- A signing deadline shorter than the statutory consideration period
- Unvested equity forfeited with no discussion of acceleration or an extended exercise window
- An open-ended cooperation obligation with no cap on hours and no payment
What you get back
Not a summary of what the contract says. A list of what to change, and the wording to change it to.
Risk score and verdict
A calibrated 0–100 score with a one-line verdict. Clean documents score low — the score is only useful if it can say "this is fine".
Findings with the quote
Each issue names the clause, quotes it verbatim, explains the consequence in your contract's own numbers, and says how far it deviates from market standard.
Pasteable redlines
Replacement wording drafted for each issue, ready to send back to the other side.
What's missing
The standard protections for this contract type that your document does not contain.
Deadlines to calendar
Every date and trigger that costs you something if you miss it, with the consequence spelled out.
Negotiation playbook
Your asks in priority order, the reason to give for each, and the fallback position if they refuse.
Questions about severance or separation agreements
Do I have to sign a severance agreement?
No. It is an offer. If you do not sign, you keep whatever your contract and local law already give you and you keep your right to bring a claim; you do not get the additional payment. The question is always what the extra money is worth relative to what you are being asked to give up.
How much time do I have to consider a severance agreement?
It depends on jurisdiction and circumstances, and some regimes set a minimum consideration period plus a revocation window - notably for age-discrimination waivers in the US, where group layoffs attract longer periods. If the deadline in your document looks shorter than the statutory floor, that is a flag worth raising with a lawyer immediately.
Can I negotiate severance?
Frequently, yes - and more often on terms other than the headline number. Extended health cover, an extended option exercise window, an agreed reference, a mutual non-disparagement clause, and release of an existing non-compete are all commonly conceded because they cost the employer little.
What does a waiver of all claims mean?
It ends your ability to bring any claim covered by its wording, including claims you do not yet know about. Some categories cannot be waived by law - typically vested pension entitlements, workers' compensation, unemployment benefit and the right to communicate with regulators. Our review quotes the release wording and identifies what it reaches.
Related guides
Waiver of Claims in a Severance Agreement: What You Give Up
What a release of claims actually covers, which claims cannot be waived by law, and the terms worth negotiating before you sign the agreement.
Garden Leave vs Severance: Which One Is Better for You?
Garden leave keeps you employed; severance ends it. The difference decides your benefits, your equity, your restrictions and your right to sue.
Review your severance or separation agreement now
$49, no account, about two minutes. See a complete sample report first if you want to judge the depth before paying — and if yours finds nothing you can act on, we refund it.
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