About standby
Standby is for unemployment claimants who are temporarily unemployed because your employer did not have work for you.
And you either:
- Have a return-to-work date with your employer within 4 to 8 weeks.
- Will start work within 2 weeks for a new employer or for an employer you worked for more than 8 weeks ago.
If we approve your request to be on standby, you don’t need to look for work while you collect unemployment benefits. If we deny your standby request, you will still receive unemployment benefits as long as you remain eligible for those benefits.
For unemployment claimants
Ask yourself one question to decide if you should request standby: Do you have a date when you will return to work with a recent or new employer? If so, you could be eligible for standby.
To qualify for standby, your employer can’t simply say they will call you when they have more work. We will contact your employer to confirm your expected return-to-work date.
If we approve your request, standby begins on the date we received it.
If we deny standby, you may still be eligible for unemployment benefits. But you will need to meet our job search requirements.
Eligibility
The Employment Security Department — not your employer — approves or denies all requests for standby. We send you a letter to let you know whether you qualify.
Standby is:
- Available if your work is full-time, part-time or if your hours vary between both.
- Sometimes available if you are temporarily unemployed due to a natural disaster.
- Not available to self-employed workers, business owners and independent contractors.
We approve standby applications if you are in one or more of these situations:
- You worked for your employer in the last 8 weeks. And you told us you will return to work within the next 4 weeks.
- You worked for your employer in the last 8 weeks. And that employer told us you will return to work within the next 8 weeks. Employers would need to request standby in this example.
- You expect to start working full time with any previous employer within the next 2 weeks. And more than 8 weeks have passed since you last worked for that employer.
- You expect to start working full time with a new employer within the next 2 weeks.
Requesting the right number of standby weeks is very important
You can be on standby for a total of 8 weeks during your benefit year. You or your employer needs to ask for the right number of weeks or we will deny the request.
• You can ask to be on standby for up to 2 weeks with a new employer.
• You can ask to be on standby for up to 4 weeks with your current or most recent employer if it’s been 8 weeks or less since you worked for them. You can ask for up to 4 consecutive weeks of standby at a time.
• Your current or most recent employer can ask for up to 8 weeks if your return-to-work date is more than 4 weeks away. And it’s been 8 weeks or less since you worked for them.
• You or your employer needs to ask for no more time than you have available in your benefit year. For example, if you ask for 3 weeks of standby, you must have at least 3 standby weeks available or we will deny your request.
If you don’t know how many weeks of standby you have available, call the Unemployment Claims Center at 800-318-6022. Find Claims Center hours on the contact page.
How to request standby
Both claimants and employers can request standby. You can request it if the date your employer said you will return to work is within 4 weeks.
Before you request standby
- Make sure your employer has given you a date when you will return to work.
- Review all the eligibility information on this page.
- Determine whether you or your employer needs to apply.
- Make sure you have enough standby weeks available.
- If you apply, request standby at the same time you open a new claim or reopen your current claim. Either way, you may backdate your standby request up to 1 week for any reason.
Request standby
- Apply through your eServices account or by phone.
- eServices: Open your current unemployment benefits claim. Select “Request standby” under “I want to.” If you don’t see the option to request standby, your employer needs to request it.
- Phone: Call the Unemployment Claims Center to speak to an agent. Find Claims Center hours on the contact page.
- Until we approve or deny your standby request, look for work each week and keep a written list of your job search activities.
Approved or denied: what happens next
Continue to submit weekly claims
Approved or denied, you need to continue to submit weekly claims for every week you want to receive benefits. If approved, you also need to be available to work all hours that your employer offers while you are on standby.
When standby begins and ends
If approved, standby begins the Sunday of the week you or your employer submits the request. When your approved standby time ends, we will send you a letter. It will tell you to start looking for jobs again if you did not return to work as expected.
Denying standby does not mean denying unemployment benefits
If we deny your standby request, it does not mean we denied your unemployment benefits. It means that you need to look for work or complete other job search activities while receiving unemployment benefits.
For employers
You can request regular standby for your employees.
You need to request it — the employee cannot — in two circumstances:
- When the employee has a probable return-to-work date within 8 weeks of the date of a new request.
- The claimant last worked for you within the previous 8 weeks.
You need to make the request within 8 weeks of the last day they worked with you, or the standby rules are different.
When claimants have been separated from their employer for more than 8 weeks, we no longer consider them attached to that employer. In this case, they are eligible for standby for only 2 weeks prior to their return-to-work date.
For example: John was laid off on Dec. 29 and did not have a return-to-work date. After 9 weeks, his employer told him that he could return to work on March 21. Because more than 8 weeks passed between the layoff date and the day the employer told John he would return to work, the employer can request standby for only the 2 weeks prior to John’s new return-to-work date.
How to request standby
You can submit the request in these ways:
- Your eServices account.
- The Request for Separation Information form. We send this to you when a worker applies for unemployment benefits.
- A letter emailed to esdgpuiintakeissues@esd.wa.gov. Include: first and last name of each employee, claim ID of each employee, dates of the standby period.
About standby extensions
We may allow standby for more than 8 weeks in a benefit year due to extraordinary circumstances usually beyond your control. We grant standby extensions on a case-by-case basis.
Examples of extraordinary circumstances:
- A fire caused significant damage to your business, requiring you to close for repairs for a specific amount of time.
- A complete agricultural crop failed due to a natural disaster.
- A disruption to a unique business supply chain halted production.
Examples of circumstances we do not consider extraordinary:
- Regular seasonal layoffs.
- Outdoor work that stops every year due to weather, such as landscaping, road work and construction.
- Recreational businesses that are open only certain times of the year, such as ski resorts, community pools or lakes.
- Other businesses in your industry are faced with similar issues, such as waiting for permits to begin work or business is slow.
How to request extended standby
- Complete the Request for Extended Standby form (PDF, 96KB) only if you want to ask for more than 8 weeks of standby.
- Return the form to systempolicy@esd.wa.gov. Without the information requested in the form, we cannot decide if the employee is eligible for extended standby.
After you apply
We will mail a determination letter to the address we have on record for you. The letter will tell you if we approved or denied your request.
If we approve your request, standby starts with the date we got the request. But on the form, you can backdate the request 1 week, if needed.
If we deny your request, either you or the employee can appeal our decision. Appeal information is in the determination letter.
Employees must continue to meet job search requirements for unemployment benefits while you wait for our decision. If we deny your standby request, it does not mean we denied the employee’s unemployment benefits. It means that they need to look for work or complete other job search activities while receiving unemployment benefits.
Visit the Washington State Legislature's page about laws that apply to standby workers to learn more.