This sounds vaguely rotten to me, and I'm not sure I would agree to it -- but I don't know how large the severance package might be. But in any case, workers who have been paid should not be said to be "required to work for free". It is not accurate.
The severance package isn't payment for work... it's payment for being let go through circumstances beyond your control.
When Disney pulled the same stunt, they offered the severance package only if the worker signed it that minute. If they wanted to discuss it with,say, their lawyer, the severance offer was revoked.
The workers would have been better off if they all walked away, and let SunTrust negotiate openly to bring them back to train their replacements. That's pretty much what unions are supposed to do. I'm not a fan of unions, but I think the IT industry is reaching the point where are the lesser evil.
I’m not going to complain about my severance package anymore. It was 5 months pay in exchange for a one year non-compete agreement. The non-compete went away when the attorney from my prospective employer mentioned the “L” word to the attorney of the previous employer. Litigate. They were willing to file a lawsuit to get me.
Had they called me then for advice, I would have told them to take a flying leap. But recently, my former boss, who had nothing to do with my untimely departure called for some advice for a presentation he was giving to an industry group. That I was glad to provide.
. . . Or train their replacements. Can you hear the clicking of the delete key as we converse here? All that documentation being flushed. Design docs getting hosed.
If I were a SunTrust customer I’d be running for the exits. Quite possibly the stupidest people ever to run a company.
Most of these kind of severance conditions are unenforceable. Especially since this one says you only need to be “reasonably available”. Sign it, take the money, and don’t be available.