Beware of Lies About Misconduct When Negotiating Severance

Too frequently businesses that lay off an employee allege misconduct to avoid paying a large severance package—and sometimes any severance at all. It’s a tactic that’s very difficult for employees to fight, especially in the United States. Employment attorney Daniel Lublin discusses the tactic in “The dangers of alleging and exaggerating employee misconduct”in the Globe and Mail.

I urge everyone who feels that they are falling into this trap to keep a record of objectives met and all discussions with superiors. Some of these discussions should be initiated by the employee, reviewing performance goals, asking for clarification where there is subjectivity or ambiguity. However, in the case of the 60-year-old employee mentioned in this article, this appears to have been a case of ageism. Special vigilance may be called for if you feel you are being targeted due to age, race, gender, disability or sexual orientation. 

Credit: BIGSTOCK

A Step Towards More Comprehensive Employee Evaluation

It’s certainly a good thought to evaluate employees with words rather than numbers. However, these changes by Morgan Stanley, while encouraging, may not be enough to truly give employees a sense of substantive feedback at work. While employees will get a five-adjective list of descriptors of their work performance, the retention of 360 reviews is troubling. Even though they’re a norm in many industries, and while some companies are able to make them work, they’re highly susceptible to bullying. Change is slow, especially in some large corporations, but when it comes to employee evaluation, more comprehensive systems need to be in place that take into account workplace culture and employee productivity. You can read more at The New York Times.

Image: Morgan Stanley's HQ in NYC; Mario Tama/Getty Images via NYT