Unemployment benefits are claimed on a calendar week basis beginning on Sunday and ending at midnight on the following Saturday. In order to receive unemployment benefits, you must meet the following requirements during each week claimed (your meeting these requirements is subject to verification and failure to correctly and accurately report these requirements may result in an overpayment of benefits which you will be liable to repay).

The Virginia Unemployment Compensation Act requires that claimants provide the name of the employers contacted for work; therefore blind ads cannot be accepted.

Report any refusal of job offers.

File your weekly request for payment of benefits in a timely manner. See Filing Your Weekly Request for Payment of Benefits, and the Voice Response System instructions.

1. Be unemployed. You are unemployed if you are not working and are not earning any money. You also are considered unemployed during any week that you work less than full time and earn less than your weekly benefit amount. You are considered partially unemployed during any week that you work for your regular employer and earn less than your weekly benefit amount if your hours were reduced because of a lack of work.
2. File your claim for benefits on the VEC web site (www.vec.virginia.gov) or over the telephone with the VEC Customer Contact Center. You also must call the VEC as directed regarding your claim.
3. Be monetarily qualified for benefits.
4. Report all work (including self-employment) and money as it is earned (not when it is paid to you) from any source for the week you claim benefits. Earnings include vacation, severance, and holiday pay. Report the total amount of the gross earnings/wages before taxes and other employer deductions are made. Do not report net earnings/wages. Do not report the receipt of Virginia unemployment benefits. Report your reason for separation from any employer, even if it is temporary employment. If your work is continuing, report this as well.
5. Be able to work and available for work with no undue restrictions on your availability for work.
6. Register for work through the VEC Workforce Connection website at www.vawc.virginia.gov or www.VaWorkConnect.com, or in person at any VEC workforce center. Unless advised otherwise, you must register within 5 days of filing your application for benefits. If you do not register, you could be ineligible to receive unemployment benefits until you do register.
7. Make an active search for work each week. Unless you customarily obtain work through a labor union of which you are a member in good standing, you must personally apply for work with several prospective employers each week. Résumés may be used only if it is the usual and customary manner of finding work in your occupation.
   
   You must provide the full name of each employer you contact when filing your weekly request for payment of benefits.
   
   Additionally, because your work search is subject to verification, you must maintain a record of your work search contacts as follows for 1 (one) year:
   • Month, day, and year you contacted the employer/company; Complete name of the employer or company contacted;
   • Complete mailing address of the employer or company contacted, including the street, P.O. Box number, state, and zip code or email address, or phone number where your resume or application was submitted;
   • First and last name and title of the individual for the employer or company with whom you talked;
   • Telephone number of the employer or company; Type of work or position for which you applied; and Results of the contact."
8. Report any refusal of job offers.
9. File your weekly request for payment of benefits in a timely manner. See Filing Your Weekly Request for Payment of Benefits, and the Voice Response System instructions.