When Do You Start Collecting Unemployment in Indiana?

Being Unemployed

• Indiana not only acknowledges total unemployment, but situations where you become partial unemployed. Partial unemployment includes any employment where you would make less than your weekly unemployment benefits, including your employer reducing your hours or losing a full-time job and only being able to find a part-time replacement. However, you won't collect benefits before the actual incident happens. For example, you cannot apply for benefits because you have a feeling your employer is about to cut your hours.
  
  

Serving the Waiting Period

• Once unemployed, you have to serve a week of unemployment before you can collect Indiana unemployment benefits. This week, called the waiting period, ensures that you that have time to look for other employment. It also prevents the state from having to pay claims for short-term unemployment, such as a two day gap in jobs. The DWD doesn't advise you to wait until after your waiting period to file your claim for benefits. You just won't start to accrue benefits until after you've served your week.
  
  

Severance Pay

• Another delay in collecting Indiana unemployment benefit might be severance pay. Severance pay is money you receive from an employer to help you cope with being unemployed through no fault of your own. Instead of giving you notice about your termination, your employer pays you severance pay in an amount that equals several weeks of your salary. When you collect severance pay, you must report it to the DWD while filing for unemployment. In most cases, you won't qualify for unemployment until after your severance pay runs out. For example, if your last day of work was January 31, 2011 but you received two weeks of severance, you probably wouldn't begin collecting unemployment until February 14, 2011.
  
  

Appeals Delays

• If there is a problem with your claim, it can take several weeks for you to start collecting unemployment payments. Initially, if there is concern about whether you're eligible to receive unemployment or your former employer contests your claim, the DWD holds a fact finding interview. After the notice of determination, you have the opportunity to appeal the decision. During this time, you won't receive any unemployment payments. Depending on the time it takes to settle your initial appeal and whether there is a second round of appeals, it can take up to eight weeks to start collecting payments.