Layoff/Severance Scenario

Layoff/Severance Scenario
After eight years as a marketing assistant for the New York office of a large French bank, Sarah Schiffler was told that her job, in a non-revenue producing department was being eliminated. Her choices: She could either be laid off (with eight months severance pay) or stay on and train for the position of credit analyst, a career route she had turned down in the past. Nervous about making mortgage payments on her new condo, Sarah agreed to stay, but after six months of feeling miserable in her new position, she quit.
Please answer the following:

? Was her separation from the bank voluntary or involuntary?
? Can you think of situations in which a voluntary separation is really an involuntary separation? What are the managerial implications of such situations?

? Did seniority play a role in this layoff?

? Imagine you are an Human Resource Manager to the organization involved in this situation. The organization wants to be responsive and fair. What do you recommend?
? As foundation for a policy statement, please provide a brief rationale for why a policy is important and relevant in this situation.

Source: Gomez-Mejia, L.R., Balkin, D.B., & Cardy, R.L. (2007). Managing Human Resources (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.