0 a usually large payment made to people when they leave their job, either when their employer has asked them to leave or when they are leaving at the end of their working life, as a reward for very long or good service in their job
1 a payment made to an employee when they leave their job as a reward for very long or good service:
It was he who gave what most of us thought was full and explicit warning of the golden handshake.
There is no golden handshake for them, only a cold, fishy grip.
At the management level, there is the golden handshake.
It is not as though the proposal involves the traditional aspect of encouraging a better structure by giving a bronze, silver, or golden handshake.
There is another clause—clause 31—that provides additional relief for those who are made redundant and get a golden handshake.
The universities let many of their best men and women retire, and they departed with a golden handshake.
They are given a golden handshake, but return as consultants or redesign themselves as sole traders, sometimes in the form of consultancy companies.
We are now in a position where almost everyone is looking for a golden handshake.
