Compensation Guidelines

Any salary increase in any amount for a career-banded title for which we do not have delegated authority (or which results in an exemption to any standing OSHR policy) must go to UNC Human Resources System Office as needed to obtain any required pre-approvals.

For any permanent base-salary increase, UNC Human Resources System Office pre-approval is required when the cumulative amount of all permanent increases for the fiscal year to date exceeds 14.99% of the most recent June 30th base salary. Current or prior temporary salary increases do not count toward this calculation.

For any temporary salary adjustments, UNC Human Resources System Office pre-approval is required when the cumulative amount of all currently active temporary salary adjustments in the current fiscal year exceeds 19.99% of the most recent June 30th base salary. Any individual temporary adjustment that exceeds 12 months in duration also will require UNC Human Resources System Office pre-approval, regardless of the amount of that adjustment. Permanent base-salary adjustments in the current fiscal year do not count toward these calculations.

Salary increases are only permitted for the following reasons:

• Additional job duties: when there is a substantive increase in the scope and/or complexity of the job. This includes temporary adjustments with a defined start and stop date. Please note: Such an increase may not be justified solely on the basis of increased work volume.
• Competitive-Hiring events:  where application of the career banding pay factors will determine the base salary.
• Equity: when employees in the same position/branch/role/competency are performing very similar work with a similar level of competence to those who have a higher pay rate and the pay discrepancy has no apparent justification.
• Position Reclassification: where application of the career banding pay factors will determine the base salary.
• Labor Market: when an employee’s salary is less than the position’s assigned market rate. Managers may request a salary increase up to, but not exceeding, the assigned market rate.
• Employee retention – EHRA ONLY- when employees have a documented offer for a comparable position (i.e., not an obvious promotion) outside of State Employment and have given that documentation to their Managers and the employee has skills or knowledge that would be difficult to replace
• Increase in SHRA employee competencies, when there is a documented change in component competency ratings or overall ratings between two Employee Competency Assessment (ECA) reviews
• Change in FTE due to a schedule change, when there has been no change in annualized compensation.

Please note: Managers/Supervisors are advised to exercise discretion with regard to granting increases to SHRA temporary employees and to remain within the defined range for employees’ career-banded classifications.

• What type of request are you asking for? Is it based on job change for additional responsibilities? Or labor market to address an inequity?
• How are others in the department being paid in relation to the same type of duties?
• How much money do you have budgeted for an adjustment?
• Have you reviewed the demographics of the unit to ensure there will not be adverse impact to others who are not getting an adjustment?
• There are some differences within the Career Banding and UNC System Office policies that we will guide you through when utilized

Qualifying reasons for a Salary Increase:

• Internal Competitive Event – Employee applies for an internally recruited job vacancy, is selected competitively and changes jobs to a different position.
• External Competitive Event – Employee applies for an externally recruited job vacancy, is selected competitively and changes jobs to a different position.
• Increase in job duties or responsibilities; includes reallocation or reclassification of job – Substantive increase in the scope and/or complexity of the job. Minor changes in duties and responsibilities should be addressed during the Annual Raise Process.
• Temporary adjustment related to an increase in job duties or responsibilities - salary will revert when temporary duties cease (Temporary salary increases do not count cumulatively towards the permanent salary exception process)
• Retention – Requires documented job offer or verifiable, active employment negotiations by a current EHRA employee with an outside entity.
• Equity – Used to address documented salary-equity issues when employees in the same position/job family/job level are performing very similar work with a similar level of competence and experience to those who have a higher pay rate and the pay discrepancy has no apparent justification. Justification for an increase due to internal-equity issues must identify the inequity and justify the rate of increase based on the relative job level, education, credentials, and/or experience of the affected employees.
• Labor Market – Used to address job equity in comparison to the market or “labor market,” which is defined as the area within which employers compete for labor. The market is composed of those institutions, businesses, and organizations from which University units recruit or would logically recruit job candidates. Justification for an increase due to the labor market and/or external-equity issues must be substantiated by market survey data if the position is not assigned to a job family/level in the EHRA (EPA) Compensation Structure. Note: The proposed increase may not exceed the position’s assigned market reference rate.

The University’s EHRA Non-Faculty Compensation Program for Instructional, Research and Information Technology (IRIT) and Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (SAAO) Tiers I & II positions (“EHRA Non-Faculty Compensation Program”) is designed to provide competitive salaries in order to attract and retain the very best talent and expertise as EHRA non-faculty employees. The program goals include promoting internal equity and fairness, assuring good stewardship of University and State resources, and enabling managers to assign compensation that meets and, if appropriate, leads relevant external labor markets.

The EHRA Non-Faculty Compensation Program features a structure that includes job families, job levels and a series of salary rates through which managers can evaluate and implement compensation decisions for EHRA non-faculty employees.

The program groups individual positions with similar responsibilities and job content into 16 defined job families, as follows:

• Senior Executives (Associate Vice Chancellors, Vice Provosts and Associate Provosts)
• Academic Administration and University Programs
• Business and Finance
• Clinical Administration
• External Affairs/Development
• Human Resources
• Information Technology
• Advising, Counseling and Student Support Services
• Admissions, Recruitment and Financial Aid
• Professional Librarians
• University Attorneys
• Centers and Institute Management Instructional Support, Public Service and Extension
• Social Sciences Research
• Health Sciences Research
• Physical Sciences Research
• Unassigned (includes Athletic Coaches and other exceptional circumstances where a position falls outside the existing compensation structure)

For each unique job family and job level combination, there is a series of compensation rates intended to inform individual compensation decisions. These rates are as follows:

• The minimum salary defines the minimum compensation level assigned to positions at a specific job family and job level; exceptions to the minimum salary are noted in this policy.
• The maximum salary defines the maximum compensation level assigned to positions at a specific job family and job level; exceptions to the maximum salary are noted in this policy.
• The salary range represents the range of compensation between the defined minimum and maximum salary amounts.
• The reference rate is an aggregate of similar jobs at the 75th percentile in the outside labor market and represents an approximate midpoint of the assigned salary range for each job level.  The reference rate is not intended as a formal limit for salary decisions in hiring or when deciding on a proposed salary increase for existing employees. Some employees will be paid below or at the reference rate and others above it based on a variety of factors as set out below.

Setting a specific salary amount is dependent upon a variety of factors which must be considered by departmental management in consultation with Classification and Compensation staff. These factors include, but are not limited to

• Available budgetary resources
• Acquired knowledge, skills and experience
• Employee performance
• Possession of an advanced degree or professional credentials that enhance the ability to perform required duties of the position
• Scarcity and uniqueness of employee skills and abilities in the context of the greater job market
• Internal equity
• Retention or replacement of employees
• Relation to reference rate

Tier I (SAAO) Senior Academic and Administrative Officers

Tier II (SAAO) Senior Academic and Administrative Officers

Professional & (IRIT) Instructional Research & Technology

EHRA IT Professional Classifications

Transitional EHRA Salary Ranges for SHRA Exempt Conversion

WSSU Internal Reference Ranges 

The University Wage-Hour provisions conform to the requirements of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the State’s “Policy on Hours of Work and Overtime Compensation.” It covers SHRA employees, both permanent and temporary. Deans, directors, department heads and other supervisory personnel are responsible for assuring compliance with Wage-Hour provisions. Violation of University Wage-Hour provisions may result in disciplinary action.

The intersection of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) with the State Personnel Act (SHRA) creates two major categories of SHRA employment:

SHRA Exempt Employees are not exempt from the State Personnel Act, but they are exempt from the overtime compensation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. SHRA Exempt employees are not required to complete University timesheets (although departments may designate alternative forms of tracking work hours).

SHRA Non-Exempt Employees are not exempt from the State Personnel Act, and they are not exempt from the overtime compensation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. These employees must be compensated at a rate of time and one-half for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours during a single work week. This compensation may be overtime pay or compensatory time off.SHRA Non-Exempt employees are required to complete biweekly University timesheets.

Exempt status for permanent SHRA employees is based on the nature of their work and is not directly related to salary, classification, job, or working title.

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act sets guidelines for determining which employees are subject to the overtime provisions of the Act (FLSA non-exempt) and which employees are not subject to the overtime provisions of the Act (FLSA exempt). Non-Exempt and Exempt status are determined in the Office of Human Resources by the Classification and Compensation Specialist at the time a position is established or reallocated.

The University Wage-Hour provisions conform to the requirements of both the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the State’s Policy on Hours of Work and Overtime Compensation. It covers SHRA employees, both permanent and temporary. Deans, directors, department heads and other supervisory personnel are responsible for assuring compliance with Wage-Hour provisions. Violation of University Wage-Hour provisions may result in disciplinary action.