THE SEVERANCE NEGOTIATION PLAYBOOK: Everything HR Won’t Tell You - Softcover

Mstafa, Bashiru

Softcover

ISBN 13: 9798199248570

Publisher: Independently published, 2026

Synopsis

HR has a script. Now you do too.

Inside this book: you get 35 word-for-word scripts covering every moment of a severance
negotiation — from the meeting where they say the words, to the counter-offer email, to
the silence when HR stops responding. Each script includes the likely HR response and
exactly what you say next.

Most employees sign what they're handed. Not because the package is fair — because
they don't know what's negotiable. This book covers the four hidden levers almost
no one pulls:

→ Accrued PTO payout — often worth $4,000–$8,000, routinely omitted from
first-draft agreements

→ Employer-paid COBRA extension — three to six months is achievable; most people
never ask

→ Equity acceleration and extended exercise windows — for RSU and option holders,
the difference can be $30,000+

→ Reference language locked in writing — inside the agreement, by name, before
you sign anything

Chapters cover every high-stakes situation: employees over 50 and their ADEA rights,
visa-dependent workers managing a 60-day grace period, equity-heavy employees at
public and pre-IPO companies, protected class situations, and performance-managed
exits.

Also included: a Package Valuation Worksheet, a 35-script library organized
by moment and situation, a state-by-state PTO payout reference, a COBRA decision tree,
and a full separation agreement clause guide.

You have 21 days. HR has done this a hundred times. You haven't.

This is the playbook they were counting on you not having.

Book 2 in the Layoff Arc. Book 1 — The Pre-Layoff Survival System — covers
preparation before the meeting.

Edition details

• Publisher: Independently published
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9798199248570
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 215