What to Do in the First 48 Hours After a Layoff

Before you log off or leave the room

Layoffs are almost always designed to move fast — a short meeting, a laptop collection, a calendar wiped clean within the hour. That speed works against you if you let it. Before the call ends or you hand over your badge, do three things.

• Get the reason in writing. Ask HR or your manager to confirm, by email, that this is a layoff or reduction in force — not a termination for cause. This one sentence affects your unemployment eligibility and how you describe the exit to future employers.
• Ask when you'll receive the severance agreement and how long you have to review it. Write the date down. Don't rely on memory during a stressful week.
• Note who else was let go. If you know or suspect a large group was cut at once, this matters — it can trigger WARN Act notice requirements and changes how much time you legally get to review your agreement.

The first hour: protect what's yours

Once the meeting ends, your access to company systems can be cut off within minutes — sometimes before you're back at your desk. Use the first hour to gather what's personally yours, not what belongs to the company.

• Save your own contact information. Export or write down personal phone numbers and emails for coworkers, mentors, and managers you want to stay in touch with. Once your account is deactivated, that network is gone unless you've captured it elsewhere.
• Do not copy proprietary files, client data, or confidential business information. Even if it feels like "your work," taking it can violate your employment agreement and jeopardize your severance. Stick to items covered in the documents checklist below.
• Update your personal email as the primary contact on your banking, retirement, and benefits accounts if your work email was ever used for any of them.
• Stay off social media for now. It's tempting to post immediately — either venting or job-hunting. Give yourself a few hours before you say anything public. A calm, factual post later lands better than a reactive one written in the first hour.

Day one: make these money moves

You don't need a full budget rebuild today — that comes later. But a few moves on day one buy you clarity and prevent avoidable mistakes.

1. Get a real number for your runway

Before you cut anything, know what you're working with: liquid savings, severance (after tax), and expected unemployment, divided by your monthly expenses. This tells you how many months you actually have — most people either overestimate or panic and underestimate. Our free runway calculator does this math for you in under two minutes.

2. Don't cancel anything yet

It's tempting to immediately cancel subscriptions, streaming services, and memberships. Wait until you've read the full guide on how long your money will actually last — some "obvious" cuts save very little, while a few less-obvious ones (like insurance shopping or subscription bundling) save far more.

3. Pause large, non-essential purchases

Not because you're broke — because your financial picture is about to change in ways that take a few days to fully see. Give yourself a week before committing to anything big.

File for unemployment — today, not next week

This is the step people delay most often, usually out of pride, confusion about eligibility, or the assumption that severance disqualifies them. In most states, none of those are good reasons to wait.

• File the same week you're laid off, if possible. Most states start your benefit clock from your filing date, not your layoff date — every week you delay is a week of benefits you likely can't recover.
• Severance doesn't automatically disqualify you. Some states delay benefits until severance runs out; others don't count it at all. Check your state's specific rules on our unemployment benefits by state guide.
• Have your basic information ready: Social Security number, employer's legal name and address, dates of employment, and your reason for separation (layoff/reduction in force).

Health insurance: start the clock, even if you don't decide yet

You have real time here — typically 60 days to elect COBRA and a 60-day Special Enrollment Period for an ACA marketplace plan — but the clock starts immediately, and a coverage gap is the one mistake that can cost you the most if something goes wrong medically in the meantime.

• Confirm the exact date your current coverage ends.
• Save any COBRA election notice the moment it arrives — it often comes by mail, separately from your severance paperwork, and is easy to miss.
• If you take any prescriptions, ask for a 90-day fill before your coverage ends, if your plan allows it.

For the full cost comparison and how to decide between the two, see our guide on COBRA vs. ACA after a layoff.

Review — don't sign — your severance agreement

This is the single most important "don't" of the first 48 hours: don't sign your severance agreement on day one, no matter how the paperwork is framed.

• You almost certainly have more time than it feels like. If you're 40 or older, federal law (the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act) guarantees at least 21 days to review an individual agreement, or 45 days for a group layoff — plus a 7-day window to revoke after signing.
• Read every clause, especially the release of claims, non-compete, non-disparagement, and confidentiality sections. These affect what you can say, where you can work, and what rights you're giving up.
• Severance is often more negotiable than it looks. Even when the number of weeks is fixed by policy, other terms — extended health coverage, equity vesting, a reference letter — frequently aren't.

When you're ready to ask for more, our step-by-step guide on how to negotiate severance and the free severance negotiation script generator will help you do it professionally.

Documents to save before you lose access

Work systems can be locked within hours of a layoff. Before that happens, save copies of anything you're personally entitled to keep — never proprietary company data.

• Your last two to three pay stubs
• Recent W-2s or tax documents accessible through payroll
• Your severance letter, offer, or agreement, once provided
• Any COBRA or benefits continuation notices
• Recent performance reviews (useful for future job applications and references)
• Your employee handbook or severance policy, if accessible
• Personal contact information for coworkers, managers, and mentors

5 things not to do in the first 48 hours

1. Don't sign anything immediately. There is almost never a real same-day deadline, whatever the paperwork implies.
2. Don't vent publicly — on LinkedIn, Slack, or company Glassdoor pages. Anything you post can resurface during reference checks or negotiations.
3. Don't go silent on your network. The instinct to disappear until you "have good news" is understandable but counterproductive — most roles come through people who already know you.
4. Don't ignore the health insurance deadline just because it feels far away. Sixty days disappears faster than expected once a job search starts.
5. Don't wait to file for unemployment while you "figure things out." Filing takes twenty minutes and starts a clock you can't rewind.

Your 48-hour timeline at a glance

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