Frequently Asked Questions - Salary Program FY20

Salary Program FY20

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 2, 2019 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, and (c) enter the increase into the UCPath system by 10/10/19.

  1. Individuals must be a) appointed to a PPSM position on or before January 2, 2019, (b) in a PPSM position on July 1, 2019, and (c) must remain on payroll in an eligible position and appointment on the date that the pay increase is paid.

  1. Excluded:

a. Individuals who were hired after January 2, 2019,

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

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

d. Rehired retirees,

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

f. Employees covered by collective bargaining agreements.  Represented employees’ compensation is covered by their respective labor agreements.  Human Resources will communicate any compensation changes for employees covered by collective bargaining as the contracts are finalized.

What is the effective date of the merit increase and when will I see it in my paycheck?

The retroactive effective date for merit increases is 7/1/19 for monthly paid employees and 6/30/19 for bi-weekly paid employees. Bi-weekly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments reflected in the October 30, 2019 paycheck and monthly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments in the November 1, 2019 paycheck.

How is an employee’s salary increase determined?

An employee’s salary increase will be based on a pay for performance approach based on the employee’s performance rating.

Are there new requirements for Supervisors and Managers to receive salary increases?

Salary increases for PPSM Supervisors and Managers are contingent on:

  1. Completion of mandatory (1) Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment prevention training by all subordinate staff (non-represented) in their unit, (2) Ethics Compliance training, and (3) Cyber Security training confirmed by the VCs and Deans, or designees by 7/31/19. Managers can check the status of their direct reports athttps://hr.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/how_to_view_an_individuals_report.pdf)

  2. Completion of written performance reviews for all subordinate non-represented staff in their unit by 8/31/19, confirmed by the VCs and Deans, or designees.

What are the requirements for individual contributors to receive salary increases?

Salary increases for individual contributors (non-manager/supervisor staff) are contingent on completion of mandatory (1) Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment prevention training, (2) Ethics Compliance training, and (3) Cyber Security training.

What happens if the required Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment prevention training, or the Ethics Compliance training, or the Cyber Security training and/or performance reviews are not completed?

If completion of the required trainings and/or performance reviews does not occur, salary increases will be delayed and will not be retroactive. The merit increase will be effective the 1st of the month following completion of the requirement(s).

When does completion of the three required trainings need to occur?

The training must be completed by 7/31/19.

Why is the salary program happening later than the start of the fiscal year?

Since the performance review period concludes at the end of the fiscal year, managers are provided time to develop performance reviews. Salary increases will be retroactively effective on 7/1/19 for monthly paid and 6/30/19 for biweekly paid at the beginning of the fiscal year.

I’ve been working at Berkeley for several years and never had a formal performance evaluation. What is HR doing to hold managers accountable? What are you doing to ensure that every staff member receives a formal evaluation?

Managers should provide formal evaluations to their employees. Managers must complete written performance reviews for all subordinate non-represented staff in their unit by 8/31/19, confirmed by the VCs and Deans, or designees to receive a salary increase.  Salary increases that are delayed will not be retroactive and will be effective the 1st of the month following completion of the required training and/or performance reviews. 

When and how will the decisions be communicated to staff?

Managers should inform their staff about their salary increases by mid-October. Bi-weekly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments reflected in the October 30, 2019 paycheck. Monthly paid employees will see the merit increase and the retroactive payments in the November 1, 2019 paycheck. 

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 does not meet expectations (i.e. a rating of 1 or 2) will not receive an increase. Performance will drive those decisions. Percentages will vary. Berkeley provides salary increases and salary increases which reflect the increased value of the employee’s contributions to the organization rather than cost of living increases. 

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 FY20 budgets to include 3% for an anticipated non-represented salary program. 

How are performance ratings a factor in the salary increase amount?

Performance Rating

1 - Unsatisfactory

2 – Needs Improvement

3 – Meets Expectations

4 – Exceeds Expectations

5 - Exceptional

Increase Percentage

0%

0%

2% - 3%

3% - 4.5%

4.5% - 6.0%

                   Note: These are recommended % increases only (based on a 3.0% salary program)

The guidelines state that salary increases for Supervisors/Managers are contingent on completion of written reviews for all subordinate non-represented staff confirmed by their manager. At what managerial level will the increase be affected?

If you are a supervisor/manager, you must complete performance reviews for each of your non-represented direct reports to be eligible for a merit increase. If any of these required performance reviews are incomplete as of 8/31/19, your merit increase will be delayed until the 1st of the month following completion of the missing review(s). This delay affects only your merit. Merits for your own manager and for your subordinate managers are not affected (assuming they have each completed all of their own required reviews).

Will the Berkeley campus salary ranges be adjusted?

Berkeley’s salary range midpoints will be adjusted for FY20 by approximately 5.4%

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.

An employee is promoted or reclassified from a represented position into a non-represented PPSM position, and received a promotional/reclassification salary increase. Is this employee still eligible to participate in this 2019-20 salary program?

An employee is promoted or reclassified from a represented position (covered by policies contained in the bargaining unit contract) into a non-represented PPSM position on or after January 2, 2019, and received a promotional/reclassification salary increase. Is this employee still eligible to participate in this 2019-20 salary program?
No, eligibility is limited to non-represented, career staff covered by PPSM on or before January 2, 2019.

Are Contract (appointment type 1) employees eligible for a salary increase?

It depends. Some contracts stipulate that the employee receive the same percentage increase as the campus control figure. Departments should review all contracts to determine if a salary adjustment will need to be provided.

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. Based on past practices and operational considerations, any separated or terminated employee is ineligible for a salary increase. They must be actively employed on the payout date to receive the increase.

If an employee transferred from another UC location after January 2, 2019 to our campus, are they eligible to receive a salary increase?

It depends. Assuming that the entire eligibility criterion is met, then, yes, the employee is eligible. However, in the automated merit roster the employee will appear to be ineligible since they did not have a Career appointment at UC Berkeley on or before January 2nd (HIRE). Please send the employee’s name and the name of the previous UC location to Compensation Operations Manager Scott Dinkelspiel (scottd3@berkeley.edu) for validation that the employee did not receive a salary increase when moving to the Berkeley campus. Departments will be notified regarding the update process once the eligibility validation has been completed.

Is a career employee who goes below .50 FTE still eligible?

No. Once a career employee drops below a .50 FTE, their appointment status changes to Limited.

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 HCM 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.

An employee recently transferred to my department. With the performance evaluation period being July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, how do I conduct a performance evaluation?

The current department will need to contact the old department for an assessment of the employees’ performance for the time period the employee was in the old department in order to determine eligibility. If no one is available to provide that review, the current evaluation should state the period of time being used by the current supervisor.

How do we treat an employee who does not have a performance evaluation?

PPSM requires that all non-represented staff have an annual performance evaluation.  Employees who do not have a written, documented performance evaluation during the past twelve months (July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019) will be deemed to be “3 – ME – Meets Expectations” and are eligible to receive a salary increase.

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

The employee will appear on two rosters – your department roster and the roster in the other department. Each 50% appointment will be handled separately.