Rules and information for SharedWork employees

Your benefits and requirements, plus helpful guides and charts. Learn everything you need to know on this page.

To qualify for SharedWork

  • You need to work for an employer that has an approved SharedWork plan.
  • Your employer needs to put you on their list of plan participants. To be on the list, you need to be working between 50 and 90% of your usual work hours.
  • You need to be eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Learn more about the basic eligibility requirements or learn how to apply for unemployment benefits.

Benefits of SharedWork

You get partial unemployment benefits

We calculate your weekly benefit amount based on wage information we get from your current and former employer(s). Then, you receive a percentage of your weekly benefit amount based on the hours you work each week.

In any week you do not work between 50% and 90% of your usual weekly hours, you might still be eligible for benefits. We would just process your claim differently.

After you apply for unemployment benefits, we will mail you an "Unemployment Claim Determination." This letter tells you how much you may be eligible to get.

To estimate how much you might receive:

  1. Estimate your weekly benefit amount on our website.
  2. Check the SharedWork payment calculation chart (PDF, 248.44 KB) to see how much you may receive weekly.

You keep your health insurance

Your employer will not reduce your health benefits, even though you will be working fewer hours.

You do not need to look for other work, but you can have another job

Usually, unemployment claimants need to look for work to qualify for benefit payments. While participating in SharedWork, you do not need to look for other work.

You do need to be available for all work offered by your SharedWork employer, though.

You can have other part-time jobs while you work reduced hours on SharedWork. Each week, you must report hours and earnings from all your employers. If your weekly hours total 40 or more, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits for that week.

You also can be self-employed while you are on SharedWork. Each week you submit your claim, you must report the hours worked and your net earnings. If your weekly hours total 40 hours or more, you are not eligible for unemployment benefits for that week.

Requirements

To participate in SharedWork, you can be either of these types of workers:

  • A permanent employee paid hourly.
  • A permanent salaried employee.

You also need to:

  • Apply for benefits and file weekly claims. You will get help with that!
  • Be able and available to work all hours offered by your SharedWork employer.

After ESD approves your employer's SharedWork application

Your employer will assign you a SharedWork representative.

  1. Contact your SharedWork representative

    It's better to get information from your representative than from Employment Security Department staff. Your representative will have information specific to you and your worksite.

    If you do not know who your representative is, ask your employer's human resources department.

  2. Apply for unemployment benefits

    A SharedWork claim is a type of unemployment claim. Once you apply and qualify, you will see that your claim is labeled a SharedWork claim. The label tells us how to pay your weekly benefits.

    Find out more in the SharedWork Employee Guide (PDF, 763.36KB). Paper applications are available if you need one. Ask your SharedWork employer representative.

    Note how to answer these 2 questions on the application:

    In the Employer Details section: 'Why did you separate from this employer?'
    Answer: 'SharedWork reduced hours'

    In the 'Your occupation' section: 'Are you going to continue to look for work in this occupation?'
    Answer: "Yes," even though you will continue to work for your current employer.

    If you already have an active unemployment claim

    Talk to your SharedWork employer representative. You will not need to apply again, but you might need to restart your claim.

  3. File a weekly claim every week online or on our automated phone line

    Please see details about submitting your weekly claim online or by phone. Read your SharedWork Employee Guide (PDF, 736.36KB).

    When you return to work full time for your SharedWork employer, you can stop filing weekly claims. Or you can continue to file them to keep your claim open and active.

    You can participate in SharedWork and Paid Family & Medical Leave at the same time. But you cannot receive benefits from both programs in the same week. To avoid a situation where you would need to repay benefits, be sure to report accurately. Report on your weekly Paid Leave claim that you will receive unemployment benefits for the same week. You will be denied Paid Leave benefits for that week.

    You can work for another employer or for yourself while you are on SharedWork. If you separate from one of those employers, you need to report the separation on your weekly claim. We will review your claim to decide if you still qualify for SharedWork.

Get help

Contact the SharedWork program staff at 800-752-2500, option 1, to:

  • Reset your PIN.
  • Restart or backdate your claim.
  • Discuss an issue with your claim.

Contact your SharedWork employer representative to get help:

  • Completing your unemployment benefits application.
  • Submitting or correcting a weekly claim.

Please do not call the Unemployment Claims Center with questions about your SharedWork claim. Your SharedWork representative can help you.

Guides and charts

SharedWork Employee Guide (PDF, 4.2MB)

Employee payment calculation chart (PDF, 248KB)
How to calculate your SharedWork benefit amount for the week

Employee earnings deduction chart (PDF, 229KB)
If you have earnings during a week, we deduct part of them from your weekly benefit amount. See the 'Earnings Deduction' column for the amount we deduct.