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The Shared Work program provides Texas employers with an alternative to layoffs. TWC developed this voluntary program to help Texas employers and employees withstand a slowdown in business.
Shared Work allows employers to:
Note: In order for a salaried exempt employee to participate in Shared Work, their hours worked and salary must be reduced based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines. If you have questions on FLSA guidelines, please contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Shared Work does not subsidize a seasonal employer during the off-season.
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.
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. For more information on employer tax rates, see: Employer Unemployment Benefit Chargebacks.
Claimants who do not have enough wages in their base period to qualify for regular unemployment insurance (UI) are not eligible for the Shared Work program. If such a claimant was included on a Shared Work application, they will need to be removed from the employer’s Shared Work plan.
Note: In order for a salaried exempt employee to participate in Shared Work, their hours worked and salary must be reduced based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines. If you have questions on FLSA guidelines, please contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Note: In order for a salaried exempt employee to participate in Shared Work, their hours worked and salary must be reduced based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines. If you have questions on FLSA guidelines, please contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
Log on to Employer Benefits Services (EBS) to submit your Shared Work Plan online. EBS online is fast, easy, secure, and available 24/7.
To complete your Shared Work Plan application, you will need:
You can either upload a .csv (Comma Separated Values) file with all the employee data or enter the data manually. Once loaded, you can edit your list or add and delete participants as needed.
If you have any questions, contact TWC’s Shared Work Department:
By email: ui.sharedwork@twc.texas.gov
TWC approves or denies a plan within 10 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).
When TWC approves a Shared Work Plan, we email approval information and instructions for employees to the email address provided on your Shared Work application.
If TWC denies a Shared Work Plan, we notify you in writing.
Submit via Employer Benefits Services weekly/biweekly:
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.
Note: In order for a salaried exempt employee to participate in Shared Work, their hours worked and salary must be reduced based on Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines. If you have questions on FLSA guidelines, please contact the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.
The employer can use the Shared Work Plan only for employees whose hours have been reduced. Shared Work benefits can be paid only for wages lost because of a reduction in the employee's regular hours. Regular 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.
After the employer's Shared Work application is approved, shared work employees must:
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.
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:
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 is paid two times their weekly benefit amount and returns to full-time work or exhausts benefits. Claimants under a Shared Work Plan may receive payment for the first claim week without serving a waiting week.
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.
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.
- Email: ui.sharedwork@twc.texas.gov