金色降落伞（golden parachute，针对辞职）与金手铐（golden handcuffs，针对股权）、金阶梯（golden ladder针对职业成长）并称“三金”，都是企业为了留住人才而实行的奖励制度，主要适用于核心管理团队、特别是企业家阶层，具有程序严、弹性大、价值高等特点。

金色降落伞指的是雇用合同中按照公司控制权变动条款，对失去工作的管理人员进行补偿的规定。一般来说，员工被迫离职时（不是由于自身的工作原因）可得到一大笔离职金，它能够促使管理层接受公司控制权变动，从而减少管理层与股东之间因此产生的利益冲突，以及管理层为抵制这种变动造成的交易成本。其英文释义如下：

A golden parachute is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually an upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated. These may include severance pay, cash bonuses, stock options, or other benefits. Most definitions specify the employment termination is as a result of a merger or takeover, also known as "change-in-control benefits", but more recently the term has been used to describe perceived excessive CEO (and other executive) severance packages unrelated to change in ownership (also known as a golden handshake).

“降落伞”通常分金、银、锡三种，针对高级管理者的计划为金色降落伞，中层管理者为银色降落伞，一般员工为锡色降落伞。例如山东阿胶集团就成功实行了“金色降落伞”计划，将部分参与创业但已不能适应企业发展要求的高层领导人进行了妥善的安排，达到了企业和个人的双赢。

相关双语条款如下：

Golden Parachute. PROVISION. In the event that any payments pursuant to this Section 4 would result in the imposition of a penalty tax pursuant to SECTION 280G, such payments shall be reduced to the maximum amount which may be paid under SECTION 280G without exceeding such limits. Any payments made to the EMPLOYEE pursuant to this AGREEMENT are subject to and conditioned upon their compliance with 12 U.S.C. Section 1828(k) and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

金色降落伞。条款。如果根据第4节支付的任何款项将导致根据第280G节征收罚金，则支付的此类款项应减少到根据第280G节可支付的最高金额，不得超过此类最高限额。根据本协议向员工支付的任何款项都受到美国法典第12编第1828(k)节及根据该节颁布的任何条例的约束并以遵守该等规定为条件。

金手铐是指公司利用股票期权、奖金红利等预期收入手段留住企业高层管理者等人才的手段，一般都有时间等限制，期间辞职离开则无法兑现。其英文释义如下：Golden handcuffs are a collection of financial incentives that are intended to encourage employees to remain with a company for a stipulated period of time. Golden handcuffs are offered by employers to existing key employees as a means of holding onto them as well as to increase employee retention rates. Golden handcuffs are common in industries where highly-compensated employees are likely to move from one company to another.

管理人员的金手铐一般是经理股票期权（Executive Stock Options，简称ESO）是指根据股票期权计划的规定，授予其管理人员在某一规定的期限内，按约定的价格（即行权价）购买本公司一定数量股票的权利。持有这种权利的经理人可以在规定的时间内行权或不行权。当股价上升超过行权价时，经理人将以行权价购得股票并在市场上出售，获得差额收益；如果股票价格下降低于行权价时，经理人将弃权，并且这种权利不能转让。它是一种旨在将经理人的个人经济利益与公司的经营业绩联系在一起，以提高经理人的努力经营程度，促进股东价值最大化的实现。

相关双语示例如下：

The types of incentives offered are entirely up to the organization. For example, a company may offer a large monetary bonus to an exceptionally skilled employee, which he must return if he decides to leave before a predetermined time. Incentives can also include stock options, lucrative pension plans and equity, to name a few. Other, more unorthodox, strategies include paying the employee's debts or financing a vehicle. This is all contingent on the employee staying with the company, either indefinitely or for a predetermined amount of time.

提供的激励类型完全取决于组织。例如，一家公司可能会向技术熟练的员工提供一大笔奖金，但如果他在规定的时间之前从公司离职，那么则需要将这笔奖金退还。激励措施还可以包括股票期权、利润丰厚的养老金计划和股权等。其他另类的策略还包括帮员工偿还债务或资助其购车。这一切都完全取决于员工在公司的工作时间，可以是无限期的，亦可以是固定的时间。

金阶梯主要是指企业为了留住人才而实行的一种奖励制度，员工的表现越好和任职时间越长，所得到的福利随着时间增长而重现阶梯式的增长，鼓励人才的能力发展和对公司的贡献。