TWC automatically paid my waiting week after starting part-time job - did I mess up my claim?

You're fine! TWC actually pays the waiting week after you've received benefits for 3 weeks total AND have either returned to full-time work OR earned wages equal to at least 6x your weekly benefit amount. So if your part-time job has earned you enough wages to hit that 6x threshold across multiple weeks, the system automatically processes your waiting week payment. It's working as designed. Just keep accurately reporting your part-time hours/wages and you'll be good. The system is calculating everything correctly based on your reported earnings.

The same thing happened with me! I got a job at Target working 25 hours a week and after like a month they randomly paid my waiting week. I freaked out thinking I'd checked some wrong box or something. Called TWC like 50 times and never got through. But nothing bad ever happened, so I think your fine.

There are two ways to get your waiting week paid: 1) Receive 3 benefit payments AND return to full-time work OR 2) Receive 3 benefit payments AND earn wages equal to at least 6x your weekly benefit amount Sounds like you hit option #2. For example, if your weekly benefit amount is $500, once you've earned $3,000 in wages (while on partial unemployment), the system automatically pays your waiting week. The TWC computer system tracks this automatically. Nothing to worry about - this is how the system is designed to work. Just keep accurately reporting your hours and wages each time you request payment.

ur overthinking it lol. free money! take it and be happy

I think your waiting week got paid because you've worked enough at your part-time job. When I was on unemployment last year after getting laid off from Dell, I got a part-time contract gig and after earning enough money (while still getting partial unemployment), they paid my waiting week too. The TWC system is weird but this is normal.

OMG the TWC system is SUCH A MESS! I had the EXACT opposite problem - I got a full-time job and they NEVER paid my waiting week!! Been fighting with them for MONTHS trying to get that money. Called like 100 times, always busy signal or they hang up on me after I wait for an hour!!! At least your situation worked out! But if you ever DO need to actually talk to someone at TWC, I finally had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com). They got me through to an actual human at TWC after trying for weeks on my own. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh But sounds like you don't even need to call since everything is working correctly for you!

The whole waiting week thing is confusing... I thought it was only paid if you go back to full-time work too. But then my friend was working like 30 hrs a week for a while (not full time) and she got her waiting week. Maybe the rules changed recently?

Wait so do we still have to do 3 work searches per week if we have a part time job? I thought once you had any job you didn't have to do the work searches anymore?

I went thru this last year when i was on unemployment. got a part time job at HEB, still claimed partial unemployment for like 2 months. they paid my waiting week after i had been working there about 6 weeks. its all about how much money you've earned while on unemployment.

Just curious - when they paid your waiting week, was it the full amount or was it reduced because of your part-time job? When I got mine it was reduced.

This is actually really helpful to read through everyone's experiences! I'm in a similar situation - just started a part-time job about 3 weeks ago and have been accurately reporting my hours and wages. My weekly benefit amount is $380, so based on what others have explained, I'd need to earn about $2,280 total to trigger the waiting week payment. I'm getting close to that threshold, so I'll probably see the same thing happen soon. It's reassuring to know this is normal and automatic - I was worried I'd have to figure out how to request it myself or something. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories!

This thread is super helpful! I'm in a similar boat - been on unemployment for about 2 months and just started a part-time retail job 3 weeks ago. I've been stressing about whether I'm filling out the payment requests correctly since I have to report my part-time wages now. It's good to know that the waiting week payment is automatic once you hit that earnings threshold. One thing I'm still confused about though - when you're reporting your part-time wages, do you report gross or net earnings? I've been reporting gross but want to make sure I'm doing it right. Also, has anyone had issues with the timing of when you work vs when you get paid affecting your claims? Like if I work Monday-Friday but don't get my paycheck until the following week?

This is exactly what I needed to see! I'm currently in week 4 of a part-time job (about 22 hours/week) while on partial unemployment, and I've been wondering when/if my waiting week would get paid. My weekly benefit amount is $420, so I'd need to earn $2,520 total to hit that 6x threshold. Based on my hours and hourly rate, I'm probably just a week or two away from reaching that amount. It's such a relief to know this is completely automatic and normal. I was actually dreading having to call TWC to ask about it, especially after reading all the horror stories about their phone system. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this community is so helpful for navigating all the confusing parts of the unemployment system!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - started a part-time job about 6 weeks ago while on unemployment and was completely confused when TWC automatically paid my waiting week last week. I had no idea this was even a thing and was worried I'd somehow triggered an overpayment or done something wrong in the system. Reading through everyone's experiences here makes so much sense now. My weekly benefit amount is $395, so I needed to earn about $2,370 total to hit that 6x threshold. With my part-time schedule over the past 6 weeks, I definitely crossed that line. It's amazing how the system actually tracks this automatically - I was expecting to have to jump through hoops or fill out special forms. For anyone else in this situation, just keep accurately reporting your hours and wages like everyone said. The TWC computer system handles all the calculations behind the scenes. Thanks to everyone who shared their stories - it really helps to know this is normal!