How to Negotiate a Severance Package on a Call: What to Ask For and What to Say

Published October 26, 2026 · Updated October 26, 2026 · 7 minute read

HR has booked a call, or has just told you on one, that your job is ending. This playbook gives you the words for that call, what can be on the table besides the payment, and how to make a counter that ends in a revised agreement your lawyer has read.

How do you negotiate a severance package?

Sign nothing on the first call. Ask for the full agreement in writing and have an employment lawyer review it. Then make a short, ranked counter on a second call, and get every change in a revised agreement.

When severance comes up on a video or phone call with HR or your manager, that first call is not the negotiation. It is where you collect the paper.

What should you say on the call where severance is offered?

Thank them, ask for the complete agreement in writing, and say you will respond after you have reviewed it.

When they present the offer:

Thank you for walking me through this. Please send me the complete agreement, so I can review it properly.

When they ask you to sign or accept today:

I'm not going to sign or accept anything on this call. I'll review the agreement and come back to you by [date].

Before the call ends:

What is the deadline for a response, and who should I send questions to?

Why it works: it is calm, it commits you to nothing, and it gets the two facts you need: the document and the date. You don't need to react to the amount on this call.

Which severance terms can you ask to change?

Any term in the agreement can be the subject of a request, not just the payment, though the company can say no to any of them.

A career guide republished by the University of Miami says a package might include a lump sum payment, extended health coverage, or even help with your next job search. The same guide covers unused PTO, retirement and stock vesting, outplacement, and non-compete and confidentiality clauses.

The release, the clause where you give up claims against the company, is the one to leave to your lawyer. Ask what it covers, but don't negotiate its wording on the call.

How do you prepare a counteroffer before the severance call?

Rank two or three asks across the package, decide which you would drop first, and know what you can trade in return.

• Your ask. The package you will request, written as specific terms: an amount, a date, a scope.
• Your walk-away. The least you would accept before taking the offer as written. Keep it separate from the order in which you would drop asks.
• Your reasons. One reason per ask that HR can repeat to whoever approves it: tenure, a vesting date, a handover only you can do.
• Your trades. Staying on to hand over, a flexible separation date, or a quick answer once the revised agreement arrives.

Our rule of thumb: ask for non-cash terms as well as money. A later separation date or agreed reference wording can cost the company less than cash, which can make it easier to agree.

What exactly should you say to HR or your manager?

Make your ranked asks in one go, give one reason for each, and tie any concession to something you get back.

When they say: This is our standard package, and it's not negotiable.

I understand. Is that true of every term, or only the payment? I'd still like to ask about [non-cash ask].

Why it works: a policy on the payment amount may not cover the reference, the dates or the non-compete. You find out which terms are fixed without arguing.

Where your state or theirs requires it, tell the other person the call is being transcribed and get their consent.

What does a severance negotiation look like from offer to signature?

It is two calls and two documents, with your lawyer between them.

For example: [Sam] has worked [six years] as a product manager. The offer is [eight weeks'] pay, health coverage ending [this month], and a [12-month] non-compete.

1. First call. Sam thanks HR, asks for the agreement and the deadline in writing, and signs nothing.
2. Review. Sam's lawyer reads the agreement and flags the non-compete as broad.
3. Ranking. Asks: [twelve weeks'] pay, company-paid health premiums through [date], and the non-compete limited to [direct competitors] for [six months].
4. The counter call. First, [twelve weeks], because of [six years] and the [launch] I'm handing over. Then the other two asks.
5. The trade. If we can agree those, I can stay through [date] to hand over the [launch].
6. The answer. HR offers [ten weeks], the health premiums and the narrower non-compete. Sam asks for a revised agreement.

Sam's lawyer checks the revised agreement against the call. Only then does Sam sign. The company could have said no to every ask. That is why Sam ranked the asks, and chose what to drop, before the call.

What should you do after the severance conversation?

Send a recap the same day, and treat a term as agreed only when it appears in the revised agreement.

Thanks for today. My understanding: the company will consider [changes] and send a revised agreement by [date]. I'll respond within [days] of receiving it. Please correct anything I've misstated.

1. Separate what you asked for, what HR said on the call, and what is in writing.
2. Check the revised agreement line by line against your recap.
3. Have your lawyer review the final version before you sign.

What goes wrong in a severance negotiation?

In our view, the costliest mistakes happen on the first call, before you have read anything.

• Signing or accepting on the call. Fix: collect the agreement, then decide.
• Negotiating only the money. Fix: price the dates, the reference and the non-compete too.
• Threatening a claim you won't bring. Fix: leave legal questions to your lawyer, off the call.
• Treating a yes on the call as done. Fix: wait for the revised agreement.

NextSay Negotiate sets the ask and walk-away for the counter call before you dial. See How NextSay Negotiate works. Neither replaces your lawyer.