(INDIANAPOLIS) – The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has completed a major redesign of its Uplink Employer Self-Service system (ESS) to better meet the needs of employers.
ESS provides employers with online access to Unemployment Insurance account information, including report submission, tax payments and information on account issues.
The ESS makeover includes online, printable copies of notices and mailings; informative menus featuring easier to read fonts and graphics; simplified user roles; consolidated wage and contribution reporting; and fully integrated electronic payment options.
“The redesign of the Uplink Employer Self Service system is a much needed and welcome upgrade to the ESS user experience,” said Gina Ashley, DWD Chief Unemployment Insurance and Workforce Solutions Officer. “These upgrades are the result of more than two years of conducting employer surveys and identifying best practices. Thousands of businesses that use ESS to access their Unemployment Insurance account, submit reports and make payments will find a more intuitive and user-friendly tool.”
With the new system, employers now will file one quarterly report, and electronic filing is required unless the employer has been granted an electronic reporting waiver. A fully integrated electronic payment system with a free e-check option eliminates the need to go to a separate website to pay.
Also, employers can use their email addresses to access the ESS system, use shared services for payroll and reporting, and designate multiple people to receive critical DWD communications like merit rate notices via online access.
Mary Levin, a tax specialist at Payday Payroll Inc., a third-party vendor with Indiana clients, has found the new ESS portal to be much easier to navigate than the old one.
“The new system made it easy to research my client’s tax history,” Levin said. “Everything was easy to find; I didn’t have to go digging through layers and layers of menus.”
The new ESS is best viewed using Internet Explorer 9+ or the latest versions of Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari as the browser.
DWD launched ESS in 2007 to provide employers with online access to their Unemployment Insurance account information, which includes submitting reports, making tax payments and learning about any issues affecting their accounts.
DWD embarked on the redesign after surveying employers to learn what changes they would most like to see to the ESS system. The purpose of the effort is to deliver better government service (one of Gov. Holcomb’s pillars of his NextLevel Agenda) to employers and their agents with an easy-to-use system that promotes a paperless environment.
The improvements to the ESS system also will lead to increased reporting accuracy, reduced opportunities for benefit fraud and better data for informed decision-making.
To access the system, visit: uplink.in.gov/ESS/ESSLogon.htm
