You wouldn’t get divorced without knowing the details about you and your partner’s financial status. The same holds true for information concerning your employer.  Keep a file at home of all handbooks, policies and benefits concerning your employment. Be mindful if the Company has a written Severance Policy and make sure you are being given what is documented. Also keep a copy of all of your performance evaluations, and any negative or positive remarks that a supervisor or colleague may have said or written about you.  This includes verbal remarks – write down who and when the information was relayed to you.  Oftentimes companies hand out or mail a copy of policies, handbooks and Summary Plan Descriptions (SPD’s) of benefits on an annual basis.  Keep copies of everything; and if you don’t like clutter, scan the documents to a file kept on your home computer.

If anything happens to your employment status, you’ll want to easily reference what the policies and benefits are.  Many times employers have progressive discipline policies in their handbooks, which can create an argument for you if that particular policy was not followed in your situation. Sometimes an employee handbook or other communication can affect at-will employment, and all policies, offer letters and electronic communications should be considered. While you have every right to request a copy of your employment file (and you should request a full and complete copy in writing once you have been terminated), it’s quicker and more efficient, however, to have at least some of the information easily at your fingertips so that you don’t have to wait for the answers.  Even if you decide to leave your employer voluntarily and find another position on your own, it’s always good to have a record of what your current benefits are in order to appropriately compare them to those offered in a potential new position.

Benefits, and in particular, health benefits, are an increasingly important component of an overall compensation package.  It’s very important to assess how your current plan fares against a new plan as benefit levels and co-pays can have significant cost implications.

As always, the Employment Divorce^® and Employment Therapy^® are here to help and guide you through this process.  Contact Us.