Times are tough and you are confronted with the grim reality of a layoff for your employees. You can’t keep staff at the current level and survive the expense, but your business depends on the expertise and talent of your employees. What do you do? As one employer said to me, “I’ve gotten rid of the chaff, these people are my core! When work picks back up, I won’t be able to compete without them. If they go, my business goes!”
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) does have a program, Shared Work Compensation that might help. This program allows employers to keep a specified group of employees at part-time hours, yet the pay lost to reduced hours is supplemented by partial unemployment benefits.
Maybe this isn’t the answer for your business, but it is an option worth exploring.
TWC does have a unit to answer your questions, as well as online information and applications. For questions about submitting a Shared Work application, call (512) 463-2999
Helpful Shared Work Plan Links
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Shared Work Plan Application and Employee Participant List, Word Version
- Shared Work Plan Application and Employee Participant List, PDF Version
Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view PDF files.
Cally Graves is an Industry Liaison between business, workforce, and education working with Workforce Solutions . She has 35 years of experience in workforce development, primarily working with employers in Houston, Texas and the Gulf Coast region.