Staff Employment
This page contains information related to preparing Personnel Action Forms and new hire essential documents for all employees, except students.
Executive Service, Faculty and University Work Force
Executive Service, Faculty and University Work Force employees all have individual position numbers within our university budget.
Before hiring one of these types of employees or filling a vacant position, please make sure you have gone through the proper procedures to recruit for the position or have an approved Request for Waiver of Advertisement and that the salary for the position has been approved. Salaries should not go over the maximum of the pay range listed in the job posting or over the maximum for the pay grade without HR approval.
Personnel Action Forms for these positions must have the proper signatures before being processed by HR. Personnel Action Forms should be routed: 1) per the individual division's Delegation of Authority, 2) to any other departments involved (i.e. Research Administration and Engagement, Foundation), and 3) through the Budget Office.
Other Personal Services (OPS)
OPS positions (OPS Staff, OPS Faculty, Adjuncts) are temporary, at-will employees. These positions are typically used to accomplish short term or intermittent tasks. These positions do not have individual positions numbers but have pooled position numbers. Human Resources will assign the position numbers on these Personnel Action Forms.
Personnel Action Forms for these positions must have the proper signatures before being processed by HR. Personnel Action Forms should be routed: 1) per the individual division's Delegation of Authority, and 2) to any other departments involved (i.e. Research Administration and Engagement, Foundation, working Extra State Comp in another Department or Division). These Personnel Action Forms do not need to go through the Budget Office.
Before hiring an OPS employee, supervisors and office administrators should:
- Assure they have management approval prior to filling new or vacant positions.
- Verify that funding is available.
- Review the OPS Staff Pay Plan to determine the appropriate pay grade for the position based on duties performed.
- Get HR approval if the salary is above the maximum for the Class Code.
- Contact HR if you have any questions regarding salaried exempt positions. All salaried exempt positions must meet salary test ($684 per week minimum) and duties test.
Once you have identified a finalist for your new or vacant position a background screening must be completed. Please refer to the Background Screenings page of the HR website for the next steps.
Additional information regarding the overview of the recruitment process and general guidelines for conducting recruitments can be found on the Recruitment page of the HR website.
Submit the New Hires Needing Essential Documents Form to Human Resources and ask your finalist to review the information on the Human Resources’ New Hire web page.
The new hire essential documents will be collected by Human Resources and the Department may have the Personnel Action Form prepared and sent along to HR. To locate the Personnel Action Form, please log into MyUWF and enter Personnel Action Form in the search box.
All Personnel Action Forms are now routed for signature via DocuSign. Please consult with your Business Manager for specific instructions on how your Division is handling this process.
A new hire's essential documents must be completed and received by Human Resources before they can be placed on the payroll system. Please refer to the 2025 HR Payroll Calendar for Personnel Action Form biweekly deadlines.
There are many factors that come into play when hiring or rehiring an employee who has previously worked for UWF or any Florida Retirement System employer in the past. All hires and rehires (even if they were just terminated the day before) must complete a new Florida Retirement System (FRS) Certification Form through Human Resources and must be cleared through the FRS system before starting to work. This is required because certain restrictions apply to hiring former employees who are collecting a pension or who have taken any kind of distribution from their FRS Investment Plan or Optional Retirement Program (ORP). Other documentation requirements depend on the particular circumstances and how long the person has been gone.
In the event a UWF new hire will be working at a remote location and will not be able to present original documents to an on-campus UWF representative, the Form I-9 can be done via a live video interaction. Prior to setting an appointment for the live video interaction, we will need to have you provide us with your completed new hire paperwork and unexpired work authorization documents. These should be completed and mailed to UWF, via the address provided by the UWF HR Processing/Records Team. Once the documents have been received, an appointment will be set up for the live video interaction.
Additional details can be obtained via Human Resources.
To initiate a cell phone allowance, a Personnel Action Form should be prepared and forwarded to Human Resources. The Personnel Action Form should indicate the start date and bi-weekly amount of the allowance. A signed Cell Phone Allowance Agreement must accompany the Personnel Action Form. Cell phone allowances are not automatically carried forward from one position to another as the allowance is attached to the default earnings on the individual position. So, if an employee changes position number (within the same department or in a new department) and their cell phone allowance is to be continued, the department must note this on the Personnel Action Form for the new position.
Discretionary Pay Increases (University Work Force)
Pay increases to a University Work Force employee’s current position may be given if approved and if funding (rate) is available within the department. See University Policy HR-14.00-2004/07 for details. Approved categories for pay increases are:
- Position Orientation Year Increase
- Pay for Performance Program (not currently active)
- Permanent Duties Increase (significant increase in level or nature of duties; requires updated Job Description)
- Temporary Duties Increase (increased duties for 30 or more days; end date required except for Interim positions)
- Internal Equity/Salary Compression (requires justification)
- Retention (requires justification/copy of offer letter)
All discretionary pay increases require an explanation and/or justification. To avoid delays, please clear all permanent pay increase amounts through our HR Employment section prior to initiating a Personnel Action Form. Once all prerequisites have been completed, the department should initiate a Personnel Action Form which should reflect: beginning date, end date (if applicable), increase amount/percentage, new salary, and appropriate category (reason) for the increase.
Discretionary Pay Increases (OPS)
Discretionary pay increases may be given to OPS employees if approved, if departmental funding is available, and if allowed by the contract/grant or funding entity. Increases should not go over the maximum for the class code or pay grade.
Mandatory Pay Increases
Mandatory pay increases such as State and Federal minimum wage increases and across-the-board legislative pay increases are handled by Human Resources. Departments will not need to prepare individual Personnel Action Forms. Information will be communicated to the campus as these events take place.
Supplemental Pay
- Bonus - One-time, lump sum OPS payment for a successful completion of a special project or assignment which is in addition to the employee's regular duties or a documented significant increase in productivity or productivity goal achievement.
- Additional State Comp/Extra State Comp/Overloads (University Work Force & Faculty Only) – Pay for additional work performed outside of current classification and not an extension of current position description. Faculty overloads should adhere to Academic Affairs Standard Operating Procedure. Please contact Human Resources in advance of work being performed by non-exempt employees as this may require overtime pay. Departments should initiate a Personnel Action Form and route for approval. When appointing an employee outside your Division/College, the Personnel Action Form must also route to the employee's supervisor/manager for approval. Personnel Action Forms should reflect: OPS appointment type; beginning date, end date, supplement $ amount, FTE; Home Orgn; Pay Index; Working Title; as well as the type of increase (Extra State Comp) and the reason.
Awards
Award payments to existing employees are processed via Personal Action Forms even though they are actually not “pay for work performed". Please make sure the Personal Action Form shows: OPS appointment type; effective (begin) date for the award; $ amount of the award; Pay Index for the Award; as well as the official award title (i.e., 2014 Professional Excellence Award Winner; Faculty Excellence in Teaching or Advising Award, etc.).
All foreign nationals who are offered employment by UWF must have employment authorization in the form of an employment-based visa before they can begin work. Please see our Foreign National Employee Services section for more information. If you have any questions or doubts about completing an I-9 on an international employee, feel free to call one of our HR Processing/Records team members for assistance.
