TWC waiting week payment after returning to work - can I still claim it?

Yes, you can still get your waiting week! When you request payment on Monday, go ahead and report all your work hours and earnings honestly. The TWC system will automatically calculate any partial benefits you might be eligible for. As long as you've received at least 3 benefit payments and weren't disqualified, your waiting week should be processed automatically after this final payment request. Just to be clear though, you won't get paid for the waiting week if you were disqualified for any reason or if you earned too much at your new job during the waiting week period. The system should sort it all out based on your reported earnings.

congrats on the new job!! i had almost the same situation last year. just request payment like normal and be super honest about your work hours. dont try to get extra $ cause they WILL catch you and make you pay it back with penalties!!

The way TWC handles the waiting week can be confusing. Here's the official process: 1. You must complete your waiting week (first week of your claim) 2. You must receive at least 3 payments on your claim 3. You must request payment for the week after your waiting week Since you've already received payments for a month, you should have met these requirements. When you request payment on Monday, just follow the normal process and report your work and earnings. The system will automatically process your waiting week payment after this request is completed. If you've earned too much at your new job during the benefit period that includes your waiting week, you might not receive the waiting week payment. The general rule is that you must be eligible for at least $1 in benefits during the week after your waiting week. Also important: Make sure you continue to complete your work search activities for any weeks you're claiming, even if it's just this final claim period. TWC requires 3 work search activities per week, even for your last payment request.

I'm a little confused about something - doesn't the waiting week get paid automatically? I thought the system just adds it after you've been paid 3 times. Do we actually have to request it specifically??

TWC's system is SO FRUSTRATING! I never got my waiting week paid even after getting 5 payments!!! When I called to ask about it, I got disconnected THREE TIMES and then when I finally got someone they said I wasn't eligible because I worked part-time during my second week. But that makes NO SENSE since I reported those earnings and still got partial benefits that week!! Their rules are constantly changing and the representatives give different answers depending on who you talk to. Good luck getting through to anyone who actually knows what they're talking about!!!

If you're worried about getting through to TWC to check on your waiting week payment, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation last month and kept getting busy signals when calling TWC. Claimyr got me connected to a TWC rep in about 20 minutes instead of spending days trying to get through. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/V-IMvH88P1U?si=kNxmh025COIlIzKh The agent I spoke with confirmed my waiting week was being processed and explained exactly when I would receive it. Saved me a ton of stress wondering if it would come through.

this happened to me last year and i got my waiting week payment like 2 weeks after my final request. just be patient, twc is slow lol

Just to follow up on what others have said - make sure you understand that your waiting week payment might be reduced based on your new job's earnings. TWC uses what they call "proportionate reduction" for any week where you work part-time. So if your new job's earnings reduce your normal weekly benefit amount by 50%, your waiting week payment would also be reduced by 50%. And remember that TWC requires you to report all work and earnings for the actual week the work was performed, not when you get paid. So if you started work on February 17, you'll need to report those hours when you request payment on February 24. If the system doesn't automatically process your waiting week after your final payment request, you might need to contact TWC directly. Expect some delay, but it should come through eventually.

i think everyones making this way more complicated than it is. just do your payment request normally and the waiting week comes later automatically. thats it. u dont need to do anything special

Thanks everyone for all the advice! I'll go ahead and do my regular payment request on Monday, report my work hours honestly, and wait for the waiting week to process. Sounds like I might need to be patient since it could take a couple weeks to show up after my final request. I appreciate all the help!