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Decent Termination: A Moral Case for Severance Pay

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  • Kim, Tae Wan

Abstract

People are often involuntarily laid off from their jobs through no fault of their own. Employees who are dismissed in this manner cannot always legitimately hold employers accountable for these miserable situations because the decision to implement layoffs is often the best possible outcome given the context—that is, layoffs in and of themselves may be “necessary evils.” Yet, even in circumstances in which layoffs qualify as “necessary evils,” morality demands that employers respect the dignity of those whose employment is involuntarily terminated. In this paper I argue that to preserve the dignity of employees who are involuntarily terminated, in most cases employers have a substantial reason to offer a special kind of unemployment benefit, “severance pay.” To support my claim I draw and expand upon Bernard Williams’s analysis of “agent-regret,” which I believe greatly helps to address and articulate employers’ obligations in the context of involuntary termination.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Tae Wan, 2014. "Decent Termination: A Moral Case for Severance Pay," Business Ethics Quarterly, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(2), pages 203-227, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:cup:buetqu:v:24:y:2014:i:02:p:203-227_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Vivien Lefebvre, 2023. "Layoffs in SMEs: The Role of Social Proximity," Post-Print hal-04585953, HAL.
    2. DragoS BIGU & Ionut ANASTASIU, 2017. "Layoffs And Employee Discipline: Business Ethics Issues," Proceedings of the INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 11(1), pages 981-986, November.
    3. Vivien Lefebvre, 2024. "Layoffs in SMEs: The Role of Social Proximity," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 190(4), pages 801-820, April.

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