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Discretionary Pay Increases

Discretionary Pay Increases for University Work Force staff

Pay increases to a University Work Force staff employee’s current position may be given if approved and if funding is available within the department. University Policy HR-14.03-03/25 contains details on the approved categories for pay increases, which are:

  • Position Orientation Year Increase - Upon successful completion of the initial orientation year, an employee may be eligible for a pay increase. All criteria outlined in the policy must be met in order for this to be provided.
  • Superior Performance Increase - Employees may be eligible to receive a pay increase based on performance if they have a superior performance rating on the annual evaluation with supporting documentation of the specific ways the employee excelled in the accomplishment of assigned duties and they have not had any disciplinary actions within the past five calendar years.
  • Permanent Duty/Job Change Increase - A pay increase may be given with proper administrative approval to an employee with a significant increase in the level or nature of assigned duties which are to continue on a permanent basis.
  • Temporary Duty Increase - May be given with proper administrative approval to an employee serving in an interim position or for taking on additional duties over a specified time period. Increases should not be given for assigned interim periods of less than thirty days and employees may not retain the temporary increase after the expiration of the temporary duty. Temporary Duty Increases must be paid as a fixed dollar amount, to be calculated by the department. In addition, all temporary pay increases must have an end date of no later than one year from the beginning date of the increase. If an end date is not known, the date should be 6 months from the beginning date of the increase and may be re-evaluated prior to the completion. If necessary, the end date may be extended for an additional 6 months.
  • Internal Equity Increase - Intended to mitigate an internal pay inequity. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources must be consulted prior to the approval of the internal equity increase.
  • Market Increase - Intended to mitigate a documented external pay inequity using industry recognized applicable market data. The Associate Vice President of Human Resources must be consulted prior to the approval of the internal equity increase.

All discretionary pay increases require an explanation and/or justification. To avoid delays, departments should follow the procedures outlined in the PageUp instructions for found on the PageUp dashboard. For additional assistance on the processes for permanent pay increases, please contact the HR Employment Team at 850.474.2694.

Once all prerequisites have been completed, the department should initiate a Personnel Action Form which should reflect the beginning date, end date (when applicable), increase amount, new salary, and appropriate category (reason) for the increase.

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 when these mandatory pay increases are scheduled to take effect. Information will be communicated to the campus as these events take place.

Bonuses

A bonus is a one-time monetary award given to an employee that is not added to the employee’s base salary. Per University Policy HR-24.01-01/24, a bonus may be provided for the following reasons:

  • Performance Based Bonus - used to recognize an employee who has demonstrated continuous outstanding performance or who has made a significant contribution to the University’s mission as well as departmental objectives. To be eligible to receive this bonus, the employee must have the highest rating on a current performance evaluation on file and must not have had any disciplinary action in the past twelve months.
  • Project-Based Bonus - used to recognize an employee upon the successful completion of a special project with pre-determined goals or performance levels in addition to the employee’s regularly assigned duties. The special project must have a specified start date and end date and the employee must not have had any disciplinary action in the past twelve months.
  • Additional Duties Bonus - used to recognize an employee who has assumed additional duties. This would be in lieu of a temporary pay increase for the additional duties when the length of time was not known at the onset of the temporary duties.
  • Retention Bonus - used to retain an employee when a verified offer of competing employment has been received, to address market conditions that are significantly higher than the current salary, or to acknowledge the successful completion of career development, training, or certification programs that are in the best interests of the University or support the mission of the University. There must be a current performance evaluation on file for the employee to be eligible for this bonus. The employee must be in their current eligible position for at least one year prior to receiving bonus and must not have had any disciplinary action in the past twelve months

When an approved bonus is to be paid to a University Work Force staff or Faculty employee, a Personnel Action Form must be routed to Human Resources. Documentation of the approval for the bonus should be attached to the Personnel Action Form when routed to HR via DocuSign.

Additional State Compensation/Extra State Compensation/Overloads

This is defined as compensation for any duties in excess of the regular assigned appointment or pay for additional work performed outside of the current classification and not an extension of the current position description. To qualify for Additional/Extra Compensation, the University Work Force staff employee or Faculty member must have a well-defined regular assignment and the work for which Additional/Extra Compensation is to be paid must be clearly differentiated from the regular assignment. All Faculty overloads should adhere to the 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 an Additional/Extra Compensation Pay Request & Personnel Action Form and route for approval. When appointing an employee outside your Division/College, the form must also route to the employee's supervisor/manager for approval.

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 in which the employee is classified.

Awards

Award payments to existing employees are processed via Personnel Action Forms even though they are actually not “pay for work performed". Please make sure the Personnel Action Form shows: appointment type as OPS, effective date (begin) for the award, the amount of the award, Pay Index for the award, as well as the official award title (i.e., 2024 Professional Excellence Award Winner; Faculty Excellence in Teaching or Advising Award, etc.).