Hi, as the title suggests, I am looking for some advice on things to do/not do and basically how to prepare so my employer can't screw me over any further than they already have tomorrow at my meeting with HR. Also providing detailed background to rant and give context.
Background: I've (29F) worked as a PM for over two years now. Very low pay, average-at-best benefits, “wE'rE a FaMiLy” kind of company. Two weeks ago, my boss, “Bob” (cis-het white boomer), put a meeting on my calendar with someone from HR with a very vague subject line. I'm not stupid, and the signs had been there for a few weeks that the layoff was coming, so I wasn't surprised. In the meeting (which I asked to have recorded and have since backed up the recording for myself) I was informed I was being laid off, nothing to do with performance, etc. and that my last day would be 10/13. He and HR person were very eager to get me to agree to apply for other (NOT PM) positions in the company, and I said I would need to look and see what was available and if I was interested in any of the positions. Then they went through my severance info if I didn't stay with the company–one week of severance pay for each year of service and they were utilizing a loophole in the employee handbook to pay out $200 of my unused PTO rather than the $2400 worth that is sitting in my PTO bank–because even though we get the whole balance at once added to our bank (and could thus just take two straight weeks off immediately after receiving it), it's technically “accrued” throughout the year. During the meeting I also asked about what the process would look like on my last day for returning equipment etc. HR person said they would prefer I drive into the office (1.5 hours away) for this meeting but understood if I couldn't come since I had mentioned that my car was having issues and was at the mechanic. In the case that I couldn't drive there, we would do the meeting over Teams and they would send me a box with a prepaid label to send my computer, badge etc back in. Okay cool. Last week I asked to meet with Bob and his boss (who I used to report to) to make sure we had an offboarding plan for all of my projects. During that meeting I had mentioned having to drop $2000 in emergency car repairs and that I had the car back but it still didn't feel right and I felt uncomfortable when driving it, so I wanted to have the mechanic look at it again. Bob (who had complained earlier this year about the INCONVENIENCE of scheduling an installation of an in-ground pool valued at well over 5 digits at his house) laughed and told me, “yeah, you need a new car! Don't get me started, OP, I have lots of car wisdom for you”. Yeah, sure. Then yesterday he messaged me, asking that I confirm I would be driving to the office tomorrow for my last day/meeting with HR. I told him no, I needed to take my car back to the mechanic, and I would need to have them send me a box to return my stuff. He called me on my personal phone this morning to tell me how disappointed he was in me for not driving to the office tomorrow. I kept my cool and said, “I understand that you're disappointed, and your feelings are valid, but I told you two weeks ago that I wasn't sure I would be able to drive my car there because it needed repairs, and the mechanic is looking at it again this week”. He just continued on about how there are ways around that, I should have been able to figure it out and make it work, when I got this job 2 years ago I had agreed that I could drive to the office, and he “really stuck his neck out for me” to get me two extra weeks at work. (Yeah, I'm sure that was purely for my own sake and not to make offboarding my projects easier for them ) I finally said, “With all due respect, Bob, having $2000 in car repairs, $2000 in emergency vet bills, and finding out I was losing my job were not on my agenda the last month. I understand that you're disappointed but I have done all that I can do.” He just repeated that he was disappointed and hung up. I'm livid, but I also can't help but laugh at the sheer audacity of this man and what amounted to (in my mind) a giant temper tantrum.
Needless to say, I am pissed off but also even more anxious about this meeting with him and HR tomorrow. When I asked, HR person would not give me any paperwork to look over ahead of time and refused to say anything about what we would go over. That's probably standard HR/legal BS but still makes me nervous. What can I do to prepare for the meeting? I've backed up any personal stuff I had on the computer and think I have any (non-proprietary) screenshots I may need saved. I have that recording saved. Is there anything they could do to mess with me and try to get out of giving me severance pay? One thing I'm worried about is that they won't give me any time to review/think over documents they want me to sign and I'll feel rushed/pressured into it. Also, do I actually NEED to do the “exit interview” part where they ask me how I feel about the company etc? I'd rather just not do that at all so I don't say anything that could be used against me. Basically any advice would be appreciated! Sorry this is so long, and thank you if you've read this far!
(*Edited to remove two small irrelevant details)