Severance agreement, but no contract before I leave

I was verbally given the option of a severance agreement, and I accepted. My final day of work is Feb 22, but the HR department has not given me any severance contract. They say I will not recieve it until a week after I leave. I am afraid that if I leave work before any signed contract they may reneg and just say I quit, how do I prove I didn't just quit, if they decide to reneg.

[kenzorun]

from what I can see its a verbal agreement so therfore approach them with a union official and ask for the terms of your agreement to be put to you in writing, if no union involved get a work colleague to accompany you.

The terms and everything are supposed to be in the contract I am supposed to recieve a week after I leave, does that sound right? If not, should I refuse to leave until I have something in writing before I leave?

[kenzorun]

if there is no agreement i would think not, worst they can do is fire you but then you have them for unfair dismissal I would think, I am not a lawyer but I think I am on the right track here

The contract needs to be signed before your last day. Not a WEEK after you are already gone. You might want to advise them that you will be consulting with your attorney regarding the legality of their position.

I had a similar thing happen. I as verbally told I was given severance pay through June 15th and was told I would not receive a letter. Is a severance agreement a legal item and should they be required to give me a letter. My position was eliminated due to budget and they said it was not performance based at all but...what happens if they change this?

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Unregistered I had a similar thing happen. I as verbally told I was given severance pay through June 15th and was told I would not receive a letter. Is a severance agreement a legal item and should they be required to give me a letter. My position was eliminated due to budget and they said it was not performance based at all but...what happens if they change this?

"If it ain't in writing, it never happened." Good words to live by to protect your own interests.

What will you do if you DON'T receive the severance they said they'd pay you? What you WON'T be able to do is sue the company, because all they have to do is claim they never told you anything about receiving a severance. Without something in writing, you can't back up your claim they DID say it.

If they intend to honor their promise, they should be able to back it up in writing. If they don't put it in writing, don't expect to get the money you've been promised.