Position Classification & Compensation

Types of Compensation

The following information is based on the UA Board of Regents policies and regulations pertaining to salary administration. These compensation processes reward employees as they develop, take on more responsibility, and/or move into another UA position.

 An initial salary placement of a new staff member above step one, based on criteria which may include: exceptional qualifications of the selected candidate; lack of other qualified candidates; equity and alignment with placements of similar staff within the unit. 

Personnel Job Change Reason:  “EXPL” should be used on all offer cards and start job forms that reflect exceptional salary placement.

For more information please view the reference material found below: 

This type of salary change occurs when an employee is permanently changing positions. There are three types of permanent changes to consider:

A substantial increase in job duties that results in an increase to the position grade.

  • If it's a competitive promotion, the employee may be eligible to receive exceptional placement.
  • If it's a non-competitive promotion,  the employee may be eligible to be placed at a10% increase or at beginning of grade (whichever is the higher amount). A pay increase will not occur if the employee's current salary exceeds the last step of new grade.

Personnel Job Change Reason: TRP

A reduction in job duties that involves a movement from a position in one grade to a position in a lower grade. Both the employee and department must agree on this position change.

With this type of change, increases are not allowed except when the current salary falls between steps in the lower grade; the salary will be adjusted to next highest step if this situation occurs.

If the employee's salary exceeds the top step of the new range, their salary may be placed at step 0 and indefinitely frozen until the grid catches up with the pay.

Personnel Job Change Reason: TRD

This type of salary change occurs when an employee is moving from one position to another position within the same grade.
  • If it's a competitive transfer, the employee salary may be advanced to step 14 within the same grade subject to approval by HR Classification and Compensation Specialist.
  • If it's a non-competitive transfer, the employee will remain in their current grade and step.

Personnel Job Change Reason: TRL

*For information about our position reclassification process visit the Reclassification webpage.

In certain circumstances - e.g. to create internal pay equity, sustained outstanding employee performance, professional career growth within the position, or for retention purposes - an in-grade salary adjustment may be appropriate.

  • Increases of 5% or less must be approved by the HR Classification and Compensation Specialist.

**Supervisors are limited to only rewarding an employee with up to a 5% INGR every 12 months.

  • Increases greater than 5% must first be approved by the MAU's Chancellor and then submitted to the Talent Acquisition Director for final determination.

Out-of-class pay is appropriate when an employee is officially assigned additional non-academic duties on a temporary basis for at least 30 calendar days. Out-of-class pay may be given for additional duties that are technically advanced; require substantially more discretion, authority or accountability; or otherwise require the employee to utilize clearly higher level skills and abilities not required in his/her current job.

Compensation Guidance: The amount of base pay increase available is between 3 percent and 10 percent, allocated in one percent increments.

Position Number (PCN) Guidance: The employee will remain in their current position, as this is a compensation not position change process. Therefore no budget approval or NBAPOSN changes need to be routed through the regional budget office and these changes can be requested with a job form (attached to an approved justification memo).

Personnel Job Change Reason: DOC - Out of Class Pay-Begin, DOCE - End Out of Class Pay, or DOCX – Out of Class Pay-Extension

Additional Notes: All out-of-class adjustments must be documented in a formal memo to UA-HR Talent Acquisition for initial approval and any additional extensions. If an extension is requested following the initial 90 days, it should include a timeline for additional department activities on trying to reassign the duties to another position, or successfully recruit for a permanent position to fulfill the role full-time.

Acting appointments may occur when a qualified employee is temporarily appointed to a higher level position for more than a 30-day period and for a predetermined period of time. They are no longer performing present job duties during the period of the new temporary acting appointment. For those instances where the majority of the tasks of his/her current position are still being accomplished and only additional responsibilities from the higher level position are being assigned, the above out-of-class pay process is more appropriate.

Compensation Guidance: The employee will be advanced to the minimum of the grade established for the acting appointment position or to the closest step within the grade that does not exceed a 10% increase, whichever is greater.

Position Number (PCN) Guidance: The employee’s present assignment should end and the higher level assignment should begin immediately. This should be initiated through the position description (PD) process, as the incumbent of a vacant position has changed. The PD provides clarity of responsibilities and ensures leaner processing by the TA and Personnel teams.

Personnel Job Change Reason: APA – Acting Position and/or APAE – End Acting Position

Additional Notes: Interim appointments should not be set up for more than a year, with the potential to extend if unable to conduct a successful recruitment within that period of time.

 A retention offer may be an appropriate salary change in instances where an employee has received a known offer of employment from a competitor.

Retention offers for non-represented employees that are not addressed in Regents' Policy & University Regulation require approval from Talent Acquisition and are subject to any other approvals as per MAU procedures.  

Retention offers for represented employees that are not addressed in the current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) require approval from Labor and Employee Engagement and Talent Acquisition, and are subject to any other approvals as per MAU procedures. For the executive employee type approval process, refer to University Regulation - Salary Administration 04.05.041.C.

Personnel Job Change Reason: RTFO

Supplemental Pay is compensation provided to an employee in addition to their base job earnings. Supplemental Pay memos must be submitted to the HR Classification and Compensation Specialist for review and  then the HR Coordinator will route the reviewed form to Payroll.