Special Pay Increase Guidelines for USPS and TEAMS Employees

EFFECTIVE: August 12, 2002

Reviewed 3/26/19, 4/4/19

The following guidelines and procedures have been established for the processing of special pay and bonus pay for IFAS University Support Personnel System (USPS) and TEAMS employees.

Special pay and bonus pay are limited by the availability of rate and dollars. Special pay increases must be funded from the rate balance available from the requesting department/unit. Bonus pay must be funded from Other Personal Services (OPS) available from the requesting department/unit.

I. Special Pay Increases

A. Requests for special pay increases are processed as follows:

1. The employee’s immediate supervisor initiates the request by completing the appropriate  Special Pay Increase form leaving the effective date blank. For those requests that are justified based on increased responsibilities, an updated position description must be attached, unless the justification is increased volume or unadvertised reassignment.
2. The completed request, signed by the immediate supervisor, is submitted to the unit administrator for review. The unit administrator reviews the request and, if approved, signs and submits the request to IFAS Human Resources. IFAS Human Resources reviews the request to ensure that the correct form has been submitted, that it is accurate and complete, and that it meets the established guidelines.
3. The request is forwarded to IFAS Planning & Budgeting where it is reviewed to ensure that rate is available. If approved, IFAS Planning & Budgeting signs and returns the request to IFAS Human Resources who submits the request to the SR Vice President's office for final approval. If approved, the SR Vice President's office signs and dates the request and returns it to IFAS Human Resources.
4. IFAS Human Resources fills in the effective date on the request form. The effective date of the special pay increase is the date the SR Vice President signed the request or a date specified by the department that falls after the date the SR Vice President signed the request. If the amount of the request exceeds the maximum salary range of the employee's classification, the request will be forwarded to the SR Vice President for Finance and Administration for approval. The date the SR Vice President for Finance and Administration signs the request then becomes the effective date of the special pay increase.
5. The Division of Human Resources’ Classification and Compensation (C&C) section reviews the request and forwards it to Processing & Records for implementation.
6. If a special pay increase request is denied, IFAS Human Resources notifies the employee's supervisor of the reason for the denial and coordinates re-submission as appropriate.

B. Specific circumstances, which may warrant a special pay increase, are listed below.

1. Market conditions including counteroffers and retention due to specialized or extensive investment or training. A special pay increase may be provided to bring an employee's salary up to the level indicated by market data for comparable work outside the State University System (SUS). Documentation including market data such as salary surveys, newspaper ads, or other relevant sources must be attached to the request. A special pay increase may be provided to retain an employee who has been offered a higher paying position outside of UF. Offers may be actual or anticipated. A special pay increase may be provided to compensate an employee for specialized or extensive training.
3. Salary compression or inversion. A special pay increase may be provided to resolve a pay disparity caused when newly hired employees are compensated at the same level (compression) or at a higher rate (inversion) than a current employee.
4. Pay disparity. A special pay increase may be provided to resolve a pay disparity caused by factors other than salary compression or inversion, including relevant education, experience, or duties and responsibilities of other employees.
5. Sustained Superior Performance. A special pay increase may be provided to reward consistent excellence in job performance.
6. Increased responsibilities.
   1. A special pay increase may be provided when an employee is assigned significant additional duties or an increased volume of work. Additional duties should be detailed on a revised position description. Each additional duty and the percentage of effort devoted to it should be listed separately. The revised position description will be reviewed by C&C to ensure that a reclassification is not warranted. If a reclassification is warranted, C&C will work with the requesting unit to properly reclassify the position.
   2. A special pay increase may be provided when the unit reassigns an employee to a different position in the same pay grade and the department determines that the new role is at a higher level. Documentation must include verification that the reassignment was at the discretion of the unit, that the employee did not apply for nor compete for the position, and that the position was not posted nor advertised. Special pay increases within six months of the reassignment of an employee to a vacant position that was posted, and for which the employee submitted an application will not be approved.
      
      Additional information may be found on the UFHR website by searching for Classification and Compensation Special Pay

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INTERNAL MANAGEMENT MEMORANDUM: 6C1-6.30-2-5 (Revised)