Shared Work

Overview

The Shared Work program provides Texas employers with an alternative to temporary layoffs. TWC developed this voluntary program to help Texas employers and employees withstand a slowdown in business.

Shared Work allows employers to:

• Supplement their full-time employees’ wages lost because of reduced work hours with partial unemployment benefits.
• Reduce normal weekly work hours for employees in an affected unit by at least 10 percent but not more than 40 percent; the reduction must affect at least 10 percent of the employees in that unit.

Shared Work does not subsidize:

• A seasonal employer during the off-season
• An employer who traditionally has used part-time employees

Shared Work unemployment benefits are payable to employees who qualify for and participate in an approved Shared Work Plan. Workers may choose not to participate. Employees who qualify will receive both wages and Shared Work unemployment benefits.

How Shared Work Affects Your Unemployment Benefits Tax Rate

Shared Work unemployment benefits affect the employer's tax rate in the same way as other benefit chargebacks. Unemployment benefits paid through the shared work program are charged to the employer's account and used to compute the general (experience) tax rate.

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Details for a Shared Work Plan

• You may have more than one plan. Employers can have multiple plans within the organization if each plan covers two or more employees.
• The percentage of reduced hours can be different for different individuals, as long as the reduction in normal weekly hours ranges from 10 percent to 40 percent each week, depending on plan specifications. The range of hours worked may vary under Shared Work rules. TWC calculates the number from the number of hours you specify as normal full-time employment. The figure may differ for various plan participants.
• A shared work plan is only for full-time employees whose hours have been reduced. You cannot use the plan for part-time workers.
• You can renew the shared work plan after it expires. When the plan expires, TWC will notify the employer to renew the plan by submitting a new application.
• You can implement a Shared Work Plan for one or more departments, shifts, or units. A unit consists of two or more employees. You have the flexibility to specify affected areas.
• You may return individuals or groups to work full time for a week or two and then continue the plan. You have the flexibility to stop or continue as needed.
• You may lay off some workers who were originally in the plan and keep the remainder in the plan, as long as they continue to meet requirements for an approved plan. You may replace an employee who leaves for personal reasons.
• You may modify the original plan after reporting any changes in writing to TWC. Substantial changes will be reevaluated for approval.

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Application Process

How to Apply for a Shared Work Plan

Complete and submit TWC’s Shared Work Plan Application and Employee Participant List or by mail or fax. Your plan must include the names and Social Security numbers of all participating employees.

Mail:
Texas Workforce Commission
UI Support Services
101 E 15th St, Rm 354
Austin, TX 78778

Fax: 512-936-3250

TWC approves or denies a plan within 30 days of receipt. The effective date of the plan is the date TWC approves it. To simplify time-keeping procedures, request an effective date for your plan that coincides with your payroll date. After TWC approval, the shared work plan is effective for one year (12 full calendar months).

After Submitting a Shared Work Plan

When TWC approves a Shared Work Plan, we mail to:

• The employer a Notice of Shared Work Plan Status, for verification, and forms and instructions on how to file claims for its employees
• The employee, a Federal Income Tax Voluntary Withholding Request to be completed and returned to TWC, and information regarding benefit payment to the TWC Chase debit card

If TWC denies a Shared Work Plan, we contact you by phone.

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Employer Reporting Requirements

Every two weeks, you submit to the TWC shared work coordinator:

• Payment requests on behalf of the participating employees to establish a claim for benefits
• A completed Shared Work Plan – Employee Participant List, which lists the names and Social Security numbers of participating employees, and hours worked per week
  • Shared Work Plan – Employee Participant List or
• A completed Shared Work Certification on behalf of the participating employees
  • TWC provides the Shared Work Certification form, after approving the Shared Work Plan

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Employee Eligibility

Shared Work unemployment benefits are payable to employees who qualify for and participate in an approved Shared Work Plan. Workers may choose not to participate. Employees who qualify will receive both wages and Shared Work unemployment benefits.

The employer can use the Shared Work Plan only for full-time employees whose hours have been reduced. Shared Work benefits can be paid only for wages lost because of a reduction in the employee's normal full-time hours. Normal full-time hours may not exceed 40 hours. An employee who normally works overtime may not receive shared work benefits for a reduction in their overtime hours.

Shared work employees must:

• Be eligible for regular unemployment benefits
• Accept all work offered by the participating employer
• Be able and available for full-time work with the employer

Some Shared Work employees may receive unemployment benefits for a given week while others do not. Normally, that occurs when one or more employees work too many hours or too few hours to comply with the program requirements.

Note: A Shared Work unemployment benefits claimant does not need to search for work. That work search exemption is similar to that of employees on temporary layoff who have a definite date to return to work.

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Employee Unemployment Benefit Payments

Weekly Benefits Paid on Shared Work

The percentage reduction in the employee’s work hours determines the amount of unemployment benefits a worker receives each week. If the worker’s hours are reduced by 20 percent, the worker will receive 20 percent of their weekly benefit amount. Consider this scenario, for example:

• An employee is qualified to receive $400 in regular unemployment benefits.
• A company cuts that employee’s hours from 40 per week to 32 per week — a 20 percent reduction.
• To determine the amount of Shared Work benefits the worker would receive, multiply $400 (the regular benefit amount) by .20 (percent reduction in hours), which equals $80.
• That eligible worker would receive $80 in Shared Work benefits each week in addition to their regular wages for the 32 hours worked.

Shared Work does not require a one-week waiting period for benefit payment. If a claimant receives regular unemployment benefits, Texas law requires us to hold the payment for the first payable week, known as the “waiting week,” until the claimant receives three times their weekly benefit amount. Claimants under a Shared Work Plan may receive payment for the first claim week without serving a waiting week.

Benefit Payments After a Shared Work Plan Expires

Shared work benefits are payable only while the employer's plan is in effect. Employees working a reduced work schedule cannot receive shared work benefits after the plan expires. However, the employees may be eligible for benefits under the regular unemployment benefits program. Employees who work part time may receive some regular unemployment benefits. If the employer does not renew the shared work plan, employees would need to apply for regular unemployment benefits.

Reporting Work & Earnings

A Shared Work employer does not have to report wages their employees may earn from outside part-time employment. If a claimant worked during a claimed week with an employer other than the participating employer, the wages received from the nonparticipating employer do not need to be reported on the Shared Work benefit week ending date claim. TWC determines Shared Work benefits by the percentage of reduction that only the Shared Work Plan employer defines as full-time employment.

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