When employers contest the unemployment claims of workers they laid off, it can cause a nightmare of paperwork and hassle. Laying off workers, and then saying they were fired for misconduct is underhanded, but unfortunately, it happens often. And many times, it is just your word against theirs. So what can you do to make it easier to prove your claims?
Although you can't really stop your employer from being dishonest, there are some things you can do at the beginning that will help lessen the odds of this happening or help you be prepared so that you will have better odds of winning your case. Here are some tips that may help:
- Save everything – Print out any emails, save any letters or other examples of your supervisors or coworkers praising your work or your job performance. And employee reviews, written commendations will be helpful to prove your side of the store. It is also a good idea to have something that proves what your position was with the company. This could be something as simple as a corporate directory that has your job title.
- Be gracious, even when you don't want to – When you are given notice of pending lay-offs, do your best to be as gracious as possible and be on your best behavior. Even when you really want to scream and get some payback, this sort of behavior will come back to haunt you. Don't burn your bridges, and don't steal supplies or do anything that could give your employer reason to fire you before the lay-off or anything they could point to as the reason you were let go.
- Do it quick – File your claim as soon as you are eligible. Sometimes, the employer doesn't start contesting claims until there have been a few. So, being quick to file might let you get in under the radar.
- Get it in writing – Even though most of the time, the most you will get is a box to pack your stuff up in, it doesn't hurt to ask your supervisor to put the reason for your dismissal in writing. If they are more than willing to comply, then there are good odds that they aren't planning on contesting any claims.
- Keep any newspaper or website report – If you were part of a lay-off that was reported either by your local newspaper or an online news source, keep or print out copies of the report. This will lend some credence to your claims that you were, in fact, laid off.
- Don't lie – If you were fired for performance issues, don't try to claim that you were let go because of the company's down-sizing. And don't lie about any of the details of your work history, your position or your salary. If even a small lie is discovered, it makes the person deciding your claim think that you are dishonest.
- Ask for a letter of recommendation – When you are notified of a pending lay-off, ask your supervisor for a letter of recommendation to help in your new job search. This letter will help you prove that you weren't a bad employee.
- Update your resume – I know this seems obvious, but get your resume together and start looking for a new job right away. If there are many others who are being laid-off at the same time, the job market will be even tougher, so getting a head start will help.
Unemployment benefits aren't that great, and it isn't likely that they will replace the need for a more substantial income. So, finding a new job should be a high priority. The benefits can, however, help you keep a little food on the table while you search for a job.
Have you ever had an unemployment claim contested? Let me know in the comments.
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By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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