Severance Pay

An employee who has completed the orientation and review period and up to seven years of service is eligible for severance pay equal to one week of base pay for each year of service. Employees with at least seven but less than 15 years of service are eligible for one and one-half weeks of pay for each year of service. Employees with 15 or more years of service receive severance pay at the rate of two weeks of pay per year for each year of service.

Calculation

0 up to 7 years:

1 week per year

7 up to 15 years:

1.5 weeks per year

15 or more years:

2 weeks per year

Severance is calculated at the employee's current base salary rate, based on his/her anniversary date, and is prorated. (Severance pay for employees employed on a part-time basis is prorated.) For employees who have worked both part-time and full-time while at Harvard, severance is prorated and calculated based on the amount of time worked part-time and full-time.

A. Calculating severance pay:

For example, a staff member with six and one-half years of service is entitled to one week of severance pay for each of his/her six and one-half years, a total of six and one-half weeks of severance pay. A staff member with seven and one-half years of service is entitled to one and one-half weeks of pay for each of his/her seven and one-half years, a total of eleven and one-quarter weeks of severance pay.

B. Severance Repayment

If a laid-off staff member is re-employed in a regular, benefits eligible position at Harvard before his/her severance pay has been exhausted, the staff member must refund the excess severance to the University.

The amount to be refunded is determined as follows: “excess severance” is equal to the total number of weeks of severance pay received minus the total number of week the staff was unemployed prior to beginning his/her new position.

C. Repaid Severance Account

The repaid severance will be held in a special account through the first 90 days of employment in the new position. If during this time either the employee or the new supervisor believes for any reason that the placement is not successful, after consulting with the local human resources officer, the employment relationship may be terminated by either the employee or the supervisor. The employee may then return to layoff status and collect any severance that was repaid. If the employee's new placement continues beyond the initial 90 days, the repaid severance will be repaid to the former department.

Last updated: 02/11/2009