FY 21-22 PPSM Salary Increase Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Who’s eligible for a salary increase?

Staff covered by Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) policy:

  1. Career positions: Individuals appointed to career positions in grades 15-30 covered by PPSM policy on or before January 5, 2021 are eligible regardless of funding source.

  1. Contract positions: Individuals on employment contracts may be eligible and are handled on a case-by-case basis.  If an increase is provided to an individual on contract, the unit will need to (a) provide funding for those who will receive an increase, (b) update the contract with the new salary amount.

  1. Individuals must be a) appointed to a PPSM position on or before January 5, 2021, (b) in a PPSM position on July 1, 2021, and (c) must remain on payroll in an eligible position and appointment on the date that the pay increase is paid.

  1. Employees whose new salary will exceed the salary range maximum will receive an increase that is capped at the salary range maximum.

  1. Excluded:

    1. Individuals who were hired after January 5, 2021,

    2. Individuals whose current salary exceeds the new salary range maximum,

    3. Individuals who separate from employment on or before the payout date, 

    4. Rehired retirees,

    5. Athletic positions covered by contracts that contain performance bonuses, and

    6. Limited Employees and Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.  

    7.  Employees in accreted titles:

      1. Administrative Officer 2

      2. Behavioral Health Counselor 4

      3. Rehab Services Specialist 4

      4. Systems Administrator 1

      5. Systems Administrator 2

      6. Systems Administrator 3

What is the effective date?

The retroactive effective date for merit increases is 7/1/21 for monthly paid employees and 6/27/21 for bi-weekly paid employees. Bi-weekly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments reflected in the July 21, 2021 paycheck and monthly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments in the July 30, 2021 paycheck.

Are the three trainings required this year for eligibility?

Salary increases for individual contributors (non-manager/supervisor staff) are not contingent on completion of mandatory (1) Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment prevention training, (2) Ethics Compliance training, and (3) Cyber Security training.

Does this mean that there will be some staff who won’t be receiving any increase? How is the campus addressing increases in cost of living?

Staff whose performance is rated as “Needs Attention” will not receive an increase. 

How is this being funded?

The funding for this program comes from campus budgets. The Berkeley campus receives no additional funding from UCOP to support any of these increases. Units were advised as they were planning for their FY22 budgets to include 3% for an anticipated non-represented salary program. 

Will the Berkeley campus salary ranges be adjusted?

Berkeley’s salary ranges will be adjusted for FY22 by approximately 2.5%.

Who is considered a “Career” employee?

PPSM policy covered employees with an appointment type 2 (Career) and appointment type 7 (Partial-Year Career) are considered a “career” employee.

If an employee has already received a salary increase, are they still eligible for the 3% across-the-board increase?

Yes, previous salary increases do not impact the employee’s eligibility status.

An employee is promoted or reclassified from a represented position into a non-represented PPSM position after January 5, 2021, and received a promotional/reclassification salary increase. Is this employee still eligible to participate in the salary program?

No, eligibility is limited to non-represented, career staff covered by PPSM on or before January 5, 2021.

Should employees who have separated from the University on or after the effective date of the program, but before the payout date, receive the increase?

No, any separated or terminated employee is ineligible for a salary increase. They must be actively employed on the payout date to receive the increase.

What’s the expectation for employees funded by grants or other restricted fund sources? Will they receive increases?

Employees are eligible to receive the increase regardless of fund source. 

If an employee transferred from another UC location after January 5, 2021 to our campus, are they eligible to receive a salary increase?

It depends. Assuming that there was not a break in service and the person meets all of the eligibility criteria, then, yes, the employee is eligible. Please send the employee’s name and the name of the previous UC location to Compensation Operations Manager Scott Dinkelspiel (scottd3@berkeley.edu) prior to June 4 for validation that the employee did not receive a salary increase when moving to the Berkeley campus. The employee will be included in the campus mass upload of salary increases

How does the salary increase affect an administrative stipend?

If the stipend was implemented as a percentage of base pay, the stipend should increase when the base salary increases. The UCPath system will not automatically update the stipend when the salary increase is uploaded. Home departments will need to adjust the stipend amount after the salary increases are uploaded to the system. If the stipend was implemented as a flat dollar amount, the stipend amount should not change. 

Are employees on leave status eligible?

Yes, assuming they meet all other eligibility criteria. The 3% across-the-board increase for employees on leave will be uploaded to UCPath.

An employee works 50% time in my department and 50% time in another department. How will this employee’s increase be handled?

Each 50% appointment will be handled separately.