What is Golden Handshake ?
A golden handshake is an employment contract in which employers provide significant severance packages to employees who leave their jobs or lose them during mass laying off, restructuring, scheduled retirement, etc. It can be voluntary or non-voluntary.
Golden handshakes are provided to senior level employees who the company is afraid of losing to competitors. They are also used as an additional incentive to attract talented individuals to take up leadership level roles in the organization.
Some examples of golden handshakes include monetary benefits, providing equities in the company as well as providing stock options for the employee. Similarly, the company might also provide additional incentives like annual international vacation packages or even additional retirement benefits apart from the ones stipulated by law.
