Participate in the Shared-Work Program – Employee Information
Overview
Shared-Work allows your employer to keep you employed during a slowdown while providing you significantly more benefits compared to reduced hours and partial UC benefits.
Your employer will reduce the hours you work during a week while dividing the remaining work among you and your co-workers.
Shared-Work supplements your income with Unemployment Compensation benefits while you work the reduced hours. Meanwhile, you keep any health insurance and other supplemental benefits.
Employee benefits of Shared-Work include:
- Keeping your job
- Maintaining a higher income than with partial UC benefits alone
- Keeping your health insurance and retirement benefits
- Maintaining your employment skills
- Continuing to build job tenure and a pathway to advancement opportunities
Eligibility
To participate in Shared-Work as an employee, you must be individually eligible.
Eligibility requirements include:
- At least three months of experience in the affected work unit
- Financial eligibility for UC benefits
- A work schedule of fewer than 40 hours a week under the approved percentage reduction
- At your employer’s direction, you must successfully file an initial UC application or reopen an existing claim.
Employee Resources
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Frequently Asked Questions
If your employer provides you with health and retirement benefits under a defined benefit plan or contributions under a defined contribution plan, the employer must continue to provide you with those benefits under the same terms and conditions as though the hours of work had not been reduced -- or provide you with the same benefits as other employees not participating in the Shared-Work plan.
You will receive the percentage of your weekly benefit allowance (WBA) equal to the percentage of your reduction in hours per week. For example, if your WBA is $400 and the employer reduces your hours by 20 percent under the Shared-Work plan, you would receive 20 percent of $400 -- or $80 -- in Shared-Work UC.
It depends. If you don't already have unemployment benefits when the Shared-Work Plan starts, you'll have to wait one week without pay first. If you already waited a week, you don't have to wait again when the Shared-Work Plan starts.
No, you do not have to apply for another UC claim, because your current claim will be reactivated. But it is recommended that you reopen your current UC claim online to give the Department the most recent information.
Yes, and your Shared-Work benefits will not be affected by this other employment. However, you are required to be available for work during the normal work hours of the participating employer.
No, you don't need to report the money you earn from your part-time job while you're on a Shared-Work plan. But if the plan ends and you're still getting benefits, then you must report all the money you earn from all your jobs each week.
No, Shared-Work workers don't need to register for work with Pennsylvania Careerlink© or actively search for work while participating in Shared-Work. However, to get Shared-Work benefits, you must be available for your normal weekly hours of work with the Shared-Work employer.
Employer requirements:
- The employer has filed all quarterly UC tax reports and other reports required under the PA UC Law.
- The employer has paid all contributions, reimbursements, interest, and penalties due through the date of the employer’s application.
- If the employer is contributory, the employer’s reserve account balance must be a positive number.
- The employer has paid wages for the 12 completed, consecutive calendar quarters preceding the date of the employer’s application.
- The employer must certify that it will continue to provide health and retirement benefits under the same terms and conditions to participating employees.
Once approved, employers must agree not to:
- Hire new employees in--or transfer employees to—the affected unit
- OR lay off participating employees or reduce their hours of work by more than the reduction percentage.
The Shared-Work Program benefits the business and all the employees because it:
- Eliminates the need to train new employees when full-time work returns
- Maintains a high level of productivity and the skills of those employed
- Sustains the union workforce
While preventing a full layoff, Shared-Work provides significantly more UC benefits to employees, compared to employees who have simply had their hours reduced and filed for partial UC benefits.