My husband was layed off yesterday from his job and giving a confidentially agreement. Can they be Negotiated?

Question

He was offered a one lump sum if he signs the confidentiality agreement. Can those be be negotiated? He held an AVP title and worked there for 2 years. He was part of the Morgan Stanley restructuring. If they can be negotiated what is a good and fair sum (if anyone knows).

husband wasnt giving a non compete agreement to sign because they let him go. He was the only one out of 600 that was at an AVP level all others were call center, customer service people. He made over 80K and only offering 5K for confidentiality agreement/settlement. With the mortgage business the way it is and the unlikeness of him being able to find another job in that field right away would you counter back with a larger sum?

Answer 1

Everything is negotiable, but on the other hand it is strange that he is going to sign now, that is he leaving....generally confidentiality agreements are standard when you go into certain positions with an employer...i guess we are talking more of a settlement offer that includes confidentiality agreement, right? If so, and if it is a general offer to multiple people doing knowing basically the same thing, it is generally a flat set amount for everyone...all the same. Of course the higher in the organization you go, the higher your settlement is because the ''more you know'' . One thing you dont mention is if the settlment/confidentiality agreements bars him from joining a ''completitor''and for a set period of time? If it does not, it would seem that this is just a ''general'' offer ...

Answer 2

EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE.

What a fair sum look like depends upon:
the salary that he is losing and all other benefits (you now have to find your own insurance for a while so the number of dependants factors in here),
the local job prospects that exist for similar positions (if slim then you need to consider relocation fees or a lower salary for x years)
tenure (in your case not a lot)
whether a contract has been broken in terms of notice period,
ability to retain stock options (if not you want compensation).

You need a lawyer to look at the proposal but don't think that they'll be doing right by you. They may not be and it may not be delibarate either. A few people worked hard under pressure to draw up these agreements for all redundees and they won't have been able to give it the thought and consideration that yours deserves individually so it's up to you to go over it with fine toothcomb. As long as you can justify every additional request they have a chance of meeting it.

Looking at the negotiation from their point of view. Money is not the only thing that they care about:

- swift resolution ("give him what he wants if he'll go away. I've got more important things to do now")
- maintained reputation ("they laid me off AND Screwed me, don't do business with them")

A lot of people look at the headline figure and just sign. Take your time and plan the counter offer properly you aren't obliged to sign immediately.

Answer 3

Personally, I wuld not sign it for 5k. If he made over 80k, they are offering less than a month's worth of wages to potentially give up a lot of flexibility. Is it worth it?