Prompt details

Tested on

Claude Opus 5.5

Length

612 words · 4 fill-ins

Example input

[Your severance agreement]: SEPARATION AGREEMENT AND GENERAL RELEASE Halvorsen Analytics, Inc. ("Company") and Employee. 1. Separation Date. Your employment ends on the date of this letter (the "Separation Date"). 2. Severance. If you sign and do not revoke this Agreement, the Company will pay you four (4) weeks of your base salary, less withholdings, in a lump sum within 30 days after the Effective Date. 3. Final Pay. You will receive pay for work through the Separation Date and any accrued, unused paid time off as required by law, whether or not you sign. 4. Benefits. Your group health coverage ends on the last day of the month in which the Separation Date falls. You may be eligible to continue coverage under COBRA at your own expense. 5. Bonus and Equity. You are not eligible for any bonus for the current year. Vesting of stock options stops on the Separation Date. Vested options may be exercised within 90 days of the Separation Date under the Plan. 6. General Release. In exchange for the severance, you release the Company and its officers, directors and employees from all claims, known or unknown, arising up to the date you sign, including claims under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and any state law, to the fullest extent permitted by law. 7. Non-Disparagement. You agree not to make any statement that disparages the Company, its products, or its officers, directors or employees. 8. Confidentiality. You agree to keep the terms and amount of this Agreement confidential. 9. Non-Competition. For twelve (12) months after the Separation Date, you will not work for a competitor of the Company anywhere in the United States. 10. Review and Revocation. You have twenty-one (21) days from receipt to consider this Agreement and seven (7) days after signing to revoke it. This Agreement becomes effective on the eighth day after you sign (the "Effective Date"). You are advised to consult an attorney. 11. Company Property. Return your laptop and badge within 5 business days. 12. Entire Agreement. This is the entire agreement between you and the Company.

[Your job, pay and the layoff]: Senior Data Analyst, 6 years with the company, base $96,000 with a 10% bonus target. I'm 47. Laid off on Day 1 with 29 others in a restructuring announced on a company-wide call; our analytics team of 8 was cut to the two youngest analysts. Last year's bonus was paid in March, and we are 8 months into this year. I have 3,000 vested options at a $4 strike (the company is private) and 1,000 unvested that would have vested in 2 months. I'm the only one who knows our client reporting pipeline, and my manager asked if I'd answer questions for a few weeks.

[Where you live and work]: I live and work in Denver, Colorado, USA. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

[What you know about how others were treated]: A coworker laid off from sales in the same round got 6 weeks of pay and 3 months of COBRA premiums paid. A friend laid off last year said people then got 2 weeks of pay per year of service. Our handbook does not mention severance.

Example output

Severance review: Halvorsen Analytics separation agreement

1. Key dates

Assumption: "Day 1" is both the date on the letter (your Separation Date) and the day you received it. Today is November 8, 2026. If Day 1 was weeks ago, first check which of these deadlines have already passed.

Date or period	What it is	What to do
Day 1 (Separation Date, [check: exact date on letter])	Your job ends. §3 says final pay and accrued PTO are paid "whether or not you sign."	Write down the date you received the agreement. Check that your final paycheck and PTO payout arrive and are correct. Colorado has strict timing rules for final pay after a layoff [confirm for your location].
Day 1 onward	Unemployment benefits	File a Colorado unemployment claim promptly. Ask how severance affects your benefits [confirm for your location].
Within 5 business days of Day 1 (about Day 6–8)	§11: return laptop and badge	Return them on time whatever you decide about signing. Before you do, ask in writing whether you may copy purely personal files. Keep no company data.
Last day of the month that contains Day 1	§4: group health coverage ends	Schedule any medical care before this date. Watch for the COBRA election notice, which usually gives about 60 days to elect [check: date of notice and monthly premium].
Before you answer any handover questions	Manager's request for "a few weeks" of help	Agree the terms in writing first (paid or not, how many hours). If you do help, log the date and time.
21 days from receipt (about Day 22, [check: exact calendar date with HR in writing])	§10: deadline to consider and sign	Send your request well before this date. Ask HR to confirm in writing that the current offer stays open and the deadline is extended while you talk.
Possibly about Day 46	A longer review period may apply because 30 people were let go at once and you are over 40	Ask a lawyer whether the federal age-waiver rules for group layoffs require 45 days and an age/title disclosure. Until you know, do not rely on any period longer than 21 days.

Claude Opus 5.5

Severance Negotiation – Severance negotiation prompt for ChatGPT and Claude

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Claude Opus 5.5

This prompt helps you read a severance agreement and ask for better terms. Paste the agreement, your job and pay, your location and what others got; you get key dates, plain-English terms, ranked asks, an email and lawyer questions.

What you get

Every deadline in the agreement and what to do before each one
Each term in plain English, with how often it is negotiated
Ranked asks with reasons the company might agree, and a ready email to HR
Specific questions to take to an employment lawyer

How to use it

1
Paste the whole agreement
Include every clause, your tenure and pay, any bonus or equity, your location and what you know about other people's packages.
2
Read the dates and terms first
Note the review and revocation deadlines, then read what each term means before you decide what to ask for.
3
See a lawyer before you sign
Take the lawyer questions to an employment lawyer in your state, especially if anything is flagged there, then send the email to HR.

Better results

Do not sign on the day. Most agreements give you time to review; use it to read this output and talk to a lawyer.
Keep every email with HR in writing, and paste their reply into a follow-up: "HR answered this. What should I accept, and what is still worth asking?"
Write down what you know about others' packages with how you know it. Facts you can stand behind are stronger than rumors.

Questions

Can ChatGPT help me negotiate severance?

Yes, ChatGPT can explain a severance agreement in plain English, list the deadlines and draft a polite request for better terms. It cannot tell you whether you have a legal claim or whether a clause holds up where you live; an employment lawyer can.

Is severance pay negotiable?

Often, yes. Companies sometimes add weeks of pay, health coverage, a pro-rated bonus, equity time or a neutral reference, especially for long tenure or when others got more. They can also say no, and nothing guarantees a better offer.

Should I see a lawyer before signing a severance agreement?

Yes, if you can. Signing usually releases claims against the company, and the agreement may include non-compete or confidentiality terms. An employment lawyer can tell you what you are giving up and whether the terms hold up in your state.

How long do I have to sign a severance agreement?

It depends on the agreement and where you work. Many give a set review period, and in the US, workers 40 or over have extra waiver protections under federal age law. Check the dates in your agreement and confirm them with a lawyer.

Updated 8 Nov 2026