A proposed severance agreement may include language that states that you are agreeing that the money they pay you as severance pay is all of the money that they owe you. You are essentially agreeing there are no other debts that the company owes you, including expense reimbursements. Therefore, before you sign that agreement, you need to get clarity with your HR Department or manager about expenses.

Most times, the language is standard and wasn’t meant to screw you out of your expense reimbursements, so I have often found that once the HR rep emails back and says “we will still include your expense reimbursements in your final paycheck” or something like that, you can typically rely on that without needing a change in the agreement. Typically. And if the HR Rep or manager won’t give you assurance in writing, that’s a red flag.