The examples here are free, self-completed correspondence for someone who has independently chosen to write to an employer. Each has a different purpose: acknowledging documents, asking about missing terms, describing a chosen proposal, requesting a different date or following up on a revised draft. They are not a required sequence, a recommended counter amount or a prediction of an employer's response.
Educational assessment, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed employment attorney in your state.
The severance calculator uses authored model assumptions rather than measured payout bands. It does not choose a request for you. The complete negotiation guide provides separate context; a link does not verify every statement there or replace review of actual terms.
The Short Answer
A clear message identifies the document, separates a question from a proposal, and uses accurate facts. An unanswered question is not an agreed benefit, zero cash or a confirmed date. The offer-comparison guide helps separate the package components.
Fields to Complete From the Offer
This existing worksheet separates details in writing from information still missing. It does not decide whether to negotiate, accept or decline.
| Field | Where the detail comes from | If it is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Offer version and return date | Dated agreement and any written amendment | A question about which version and deadline apply |
| Gross severance and payment schedule | Severance paragraph or payment schedule | A question about the amount, instalments or payment trigger |
| Benefits contribution | Benefits notice and subsidy terms | A question about who pays, how much and for how long |
| Requested change, if any | The difference between the written offer and the proposal you have chosen | A placeholder to leave unfilled until the request is clear |
| Supporting comparison | A named source with its date and coverage | An estimate labelled as context, rather than a claim about a company policy |
Worked Example: A Fact Is Not a Proposed Change
This is a fictional example, not a customer case or market observation. A written offer states $12,000 gross cash severance. It does not identify payment dates. Its benefits paragraph mentions continuation coverage without an employer contribution. The exact response date has not been recorded. No bonus, equity payment or subsidy is inferred.
- Stated term: the fictional cash amount in the offer's cash paragraph.
- Unanswered questions: payment timing and conditions, any employer contribution, and the exact response date.
- Separately chosen proposal: [the revision I have independently chosen]. This stays a placeholder; no model or template selects it.
Template 3 shows these distinctions in a complete worked email. Every example fact must be replaced accurately before adapting it. An employer may agree, decline or respond differently; this page does not estimate those probabilities or determine the legal effect of a message.
These figures are estimates, a starting point, not a final figure. Your actual package may be higher or lower, and negotiation can move an offer in either direction, including not at all.
Template 1: Acknowledge receipt and confirm the document
Purpose: identify what was received and ask for the governing version/date. Only accurate facts belong in the placeholders.
Subject: Documents received — [offer or agreement reference]
Dear [contact],
Thank you for sending [document name/version] on [date received]. I am reviewing the information provided.
Could you confirm which document version is current, the response date and time stated by the company, and the contact for questions about the terms?
Please also identify any schedules, benefit notices or plan documents that accompany this offer.
Best regards, [name]
What this example does: records receipt and asks for missing references. It does not promise a signature, claim a particular review period or confirm a deadline that is still unknown.
Template 2: Ask for written terms after a verbal or unpriced discussion
Purpose: clarify whether and what has been offered. This is different from the shared written-offer case; no cash amount is inserted or treated as zero.
Subject: Written terms following our discussion on [date]
Dear [contact],
Following our discussion on [date], could you provide the proposed separation terms in writing and identify the documents that apply?
I would like to understand the cash amount and its gross/net basis, payment timing, any benefits contribution, and any stated response date.
Please let me know which points remain under consideration and whom I can contact with questions.
Best regards, [name]
What this example does: asks for information without inventing an offer, payment or subsidy. Before any offer has been discussed, the opening can instead ask whether a separation offer or plan is being proposed. That question does not establish that severance is available.
Template 3: Fictional Worked Email for a Chosen Proposal
This worked email uses the fictional $12,000 offer described above. The amount and every example fact must be replaced accurately before adapting it; it is not a generic letter with a prefilled cash amount.
Purpose: distinguish the existing term, a chosen revision and supporting facts. The bracketed request is deliberately unfilled; a model range does not choose it.
Subject: Questions and proposed revision — [offer reference]
Dear [contact],
Thank you for sending [document/version]. It lists $12,000 gross cash severance. Could you confirm the payment dates and any stated conditions?
The benefits paragraph mentions continuation coverage. Could you identify any employer contribution, employee cost and duration in the applicable documents?
I would also like to discuss [the revision I have independently chosen]. The factual context for that proposal is [accurate explanation or document reference, if any].
Please let me know which points the company is willing to discuss, whether a revised document will be provided, and which response date and time apply.
Best regards, [name]
What this example does: keeps the fictional stated cash separate from unknown payment/coverage terms and a chosen request. It makes no claim that the offer is below a market standard, that benefits are employer-paid or that the employer will agree.
These figures are estimates, a starting point, not a final figure. Your actual package may be higher or lower, and negotiation can move an offer in either direction, including not at all.
Template 4: Request a different response date
Purpose: request a date rather than treat the request as a confirmed extension. There is no default seven- or fourteen-day addition.
Subject: Response-date request — [offer reference]
Dear [contact],
I am writing about [document/version]. Could you confirm its current response date and time?
I would like to request a response date of [proposed calendar date, time and time zone] because [accurate reason, if you choose to give one].
Please confirm whether the company agrees to that date and where the agreed timing will be recorded.
Best regards, [name]
What this example does: asks a question about timing. It supplies no automatic extension, statutory entitlement, promise to sign or assurance that an offer remains open.
Template 5: Request a revised draft after a discussion
Purpose: clarify the status of discussion points before treating them as written terms.
Subject: Follow-up and revised draft — [offer reference]
Dear [contact],
Thank you for our discussion on [date]. My notes record the following points: [accurate summary of what was discussed].
Could you confirm which points the company agrees to include and send the revised document showing those changes? Please also identify any other revisions and the applicable response date.
The items still unclear to me are [questions that remain open].
Best regards, [name]
What this example does: separates conversation notes, an employer's response and a revised document. It does not supply operative acceptance/decline language, assume that all other terms are unchanged or promise to sign within a fixed period.
Review Dates Are Separate Facts
The EEOC's waiver explanation describes at least 21 days to consider an individual ADEA waiver, or 45 days for a covered group programme, plus seven days to revoke after signing, for covered workers aged 40 or older. Private-employer coverage generally includes the 20-employee/20-calendar-week conditions in the EEOC's coverage explanation. Coverage and the actual agreement matter; these are not universal extension periods.
A requested extension is not confirmation of a new date. The signing-date guide explains the different dates an offer can contain. A licensed employment attorney can assess the applicable requirements and legal implications of a proposed response.
Adapting an Example Without Inventing Facts
- An offer version, amount or date belongs in a draft only when it is accurate.
- A mention of health continuation is not proof of an employer-paid premium.
- A model estimate, old announcement or another person's package is not the employer's policy or a standard that the employer has agreed to meet.
- A discussion, an employer's confirmation and a revised document are separate records.
- Accepting or declining, the legal effect of correspondence and handling confidential documents require the individual's own decision and, where needed, professional review. These examples supply no operative acceptance, rights assertion or blanket instruction to forward workplace material.
The Free Examples and the Optional Report
The examples on this page do not require a purchase. The assessment organises the details you report and shows its model assumptions. When a reported offer has a usable cash amount, it can show a model comparison; without one, the focus is preparation. The optional paid report adds an answer-based terms record, explanations and questions. It does not review agreement wording or send a message to your employer.
The report and accompanying industry guide are different resources from this public email collection. The guide supplies general topics, terminology and resources; neither paid PDF is an exclusive email-template collection or an email generator.
Free to complete. The full report is a one-time paid purchase, offered after your free preview.
Educational assessment, not legal advice. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed employment attorney in your state.