Letting an employee go doesn’t always mean your relationship is over. The Social Security Act enables them to file for unemployment insurance to help them make ends meet between jobs. Fortunately, you’re paying into federal and state taxes to cover these costs; however, this isn’t where your responsibility ends. As soon as you receive notice the former employee has filed, these are steps you need to immediately take.

Provide the correct details

The letter you receive is about more than just giving you a heads-up the claim was filed. It will ask you to submit all the details related to the case, including more information about the employee and why you let them go (downsizing, layoffs, resigned, trade dispute, etc.).

Learn how much you are required to pay

Because there are different regulations in each state, how much you pay into taxes is determined by how big your company is, how much you’ve already paid, and how many employees have previously filed claims. The amount you pay for each employee comes down to a percentage of their income received over 52 weeks. The notice will contain how much money you’re required to pay based on these factors.

Determine if you need to dispute the claim

Those details are important, but after reviewing the notice and the employee’s file, you need to decide if you want to contest the claim or not. If you feel the employee was at fault and dismissed for related reasons or left at their own will, you can refuse to pay and begin a case. If you choose to dispute, it’s important to keep everything in order and ensure the employee is at some level of fault in the dismissal.

Keep monitoring unemployment claims

Once you’ve taken the immediate and appropriate steps for an unemployment insurance claim, you want to make sure you’re staying up to date with everything. Using an employment claims software, like Unemployment Tracker, will keep you from missing deadlines and overpaying any benefits. Don’t let the unemployment process stress you out by using Unemployment Tracker to keep a higher level of control over your unemployment paperwork and UI costs. Request a demo today to see how easy and customizable the software can be for you!