Employee rights on company asset sale
My company recently sold some of its assets (not a takeover) and wants to transfer me to the transferee company. I would like to retire and take any severance pay that my company can offer. Will I be able to do so since technically, I 've not been terminated but merely that the job description has changed so much that I wish to leave the company voluntarily.
1 answer | asked Dec 10, 2002 02:05 AM [EST] | applies to New York
Answers (1)
Transferring or Leaving
Your question is a lot more complicated than you may think. Because of that, I've divided it up.
First, let's discuss the issue of transfer. Because you work in the private sector, any transfer in a situation like the one you describe may technically be a termination from one employer with an offer of employment with another.
Keeping this in mind is very important because the transfer from your old employer might end your ability to accrue benefits from that employment. This has a lot of implications. For example, the transfer would likely have some sort of effect on your pension with the old company.
In transferring to the new company, you may also be starting all over again, in terms of seniority, in terms of accruing things like vacation and sick leave, and in terms of other benefits such as health benefits. Technically, you may be a new employee.
The second part of my answer involves severance pay from your current employer. Generally, you have no right to severance pay. If your employer has a formal severance arrangement, that is the exception, not the rule. Any rights you may have under a formal severance arrangement would be determined by the plan for that arrangement. If there is a formal severance arrangement at the company, it should be described in a summary plan description (SPD) or benefits booklet which would be available to employees on asking for it. Many large employers will include the SPD on their employee webpage. Theoretically, a court could find that an employer has a formal severance plan, despite the lack of a formal, written plan, but proving the existance of a formal severance arrangement without all of the legal formalities including a written plan would be very difficult.
The third part of my answer involves your pension rights. Your pension rights will be governed by a formal written plan. You should be able to get a condensed, plain-language version of that plan by asking for a copy of the summary plan description (SPD) or benefits booklet for the pension. The SPD is a good starting point for understanding when and how you are entitled to a pension. If I was advising you on a one to one basis, I would ask you to try to get a copy of the SPD before I even met with you.
posted by David M. Lira | Dec 10, 2002 7:41 PM [EST]
Your question is a lot more complicated than you may think. Because of that, I've divided it up.
First, let's discuss the issue of transfer. Because you work in the private sector, any transfer in a situation like the one you describe may technically be a termination from one employer with an offer of employment with another.
Keeping this in mind is very important because the transfer from your old employer might end your ability to accrue benefits from that employment. This has a lot of implications. For example, the transfer would likely have some sort of effect on your pension with the old company.
In transferring to the new company, you may also be starting all over again, in terms of seniority, in terms of accruing things like vacation and sick leave, and in terms of other benefits such as health benefits. Technically, you may be a new employee.
The second part of my answer involves severance pay from your current employer. Generally, you have no right to severance pay. If your employer has a formal severance arrangement, that is the exception, not the rule. Any rights you may have under a formal severance arrangement would be determined by the plan for that arrangement. If there is a formal severance arrangement at the company, it should be described in a summary plan description (SPD) or benefits booklet which would be available to employees on asking for it. Many large employers will include the SPD on their employee webpage. Theoretically, a court could find that an employer has a formal severance plan, despite the lack of a formal, written plan, but proving the existance of a formal severance arrangement without all of the legal formalities including a written plan would be very difficult.
The third part of my answer involves your pension rights. Your pension rights will be governed by a formal written plan. You should be able to get a condensed, plain-language version of that plan by asking for a copy of the summary plan description (SPD) or benefits booklet for the pension. The SPD is a good starting point for understanding when and how you are entitled to a pension. If I was advising you on a one to one basis, I would ask you to try to get a copy of the SPD before I even met with you.
posted by David M. Lira | Dec 10, 2002 7:41 PM [EST]
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