Definition

Noun: A substantial financial payment or package given to an employee, typically a senior executive, upon their departure from a company. This is often offered as an incentive for early or voluntary retirement, or as part of a severance agreement following a takeover or corporate restructuring.

Usage

This term is used in business and corporate contexts to describe a specific type of termination benefit. It implies a payment that is generous and favorable to the employee, going beyond standard severance.

Examples

• The CEO received a golden handshake worth several million dollars after the merger was completed.
• To reduce the workforce, the company offered older employees a golden handshake to encourage early retirement.
• His contract included a clause guaranteeing a golden handshake if he was dismissed without cause.

Advanced Usage

• "To be given/get a golden handshake": This is the most common construction to describe receiving this benefit.
  • Several long-serving directors were given a golden handshake when the firm was downsized.

Variants and Related Words

• Golden parachute (n): A similar, often even more lucrative, package of benefits guaranteed to a top executive in the event of a takeover or merger that results in the loss of their job. A "golden handshake" can be a component of a "golden parachute."
• Severance package/payment (n): A more general term for compensation given to a departing employee, which may or may not be as generous as a "golden handshake."

Synonyms

• Lucrative severance package
• Termination bonus
• Retirement incentive payment

Antonyms

• Summary dismissal
• Termination without benefits

Related Idioms/Phrases

• To walk away with a golden handshake: Emphasizes the act of leaving a job with this substantial payment.
  • Despite the company's poor performance, the chairman walked away with a golden handshake.

Noun

1. a lucrative severance agreement offered to an employee (usually as an incentive to retire)