Shared-Work Program information
The Shared-Work Program offers the employers of Washington state an alternative to layoffs of skilled employees during times of temporary economic downturn.Shared-Work video - Watch the Shared-Work video to see how businesses can avoid layoffs while workers maintain a steady income.
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By legislative intent, the program creates a winning situation for both employers and employees.
- The Shared-Work Program saves employers money by lowering their payroll costs while they retain a skilled work force.
- Employees are spared the hardships of full unemployment, realizing more net income than they would if they were fully laid off.
The Shared-Work Program is very flexible. Both public- and private-sector employers are eligible to participate. Eligibility is extended to all employers, from large corporations to those with only one employee.Example
Under a shared-work plan, if employees' work week is reduced by eight hours (one day), they potentially would be eligible to receive 20 percent of their unemployment insurance weekly benefit entitlement, in addition to the 32 hours of regular hourly earnings.
To illustrate this concept, say that your worker is eligible for a weekly benefit amount of $400. If you reduce the hours worked by eight hours (one day) per week, this worker could collect $80 in unemployment insurance for the week.
A shared work plan can involve your entire work force or specific sections or divisions of your company. At least 10 percent of employees in a work unit or section must participate; however, 100 percent of your employees may participate.
Employees who would be eligible to receive regular unemployment insurance benefits in Washington state are eligible to participate in the Shared-Work Program. However, the program will not subsidize seasonal employers or those who traditionally use part-time employees. Also, employees paid on any basis other than hourly wages are not eligible to participate. This includes employees paid on a piece-rate basis as well as mileage rate, job rate, salary, commission basis and corporate officers.
The program is administered by the Employment Security Department's Shared-Work Administrative Unit, located in Olympia, Wash. Employers work directly and exclusively with the unit regarding all matters pertaining to their plan. Their employees' unemployment-insurance claims and adjudication issues are handled by that unit.
The Shared-Work Program can accommodate a variety of business needs during times of general economic slowdown. It is an employer/employee-friendly program that can be adapted to different work situations. A shared-work plan can be modified to allow employees to work from 20 to 36 hours per week and still be eligible for shared-work benefits.
For more details see Helpful Employer Information, shared-work compensation and benefits and shared-work regulations.
Shared-work forms are available online as Portable Document Format (PDF) files and you'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view them. If you need this free software, you can download it directly from Adobe.
Just click on one of the links below to open the form, then select the "Save As" icon within Adobe Acrobat to save a copy on your hard drive. If you prefer, you can place your cursor over the link and then right-click your mouse button. A dialog window will open. Select "Save Target as..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link as..." (Netscape) and you will be prompted to identify a location on your computer where you can save the document.
For assistance with your application, or more information, call:
- 800-752-2500 (toll-free)
- 360-902-9350 (Olympia area)
- 360-902-9260 (fax)
You also can e-mail a representative of the Shared-Work Program.