Staff Supplemental Pay Guidelines
Supplemental Pay for Additional Temporary Duties
When staff members are assigned temporary additional responsibilities that last at least 30 consecutive days, additional compensation in the form of supplemental pay may be warranted in some circumstances. This could be the case if an employee were to take on a temporary assignment resulting in significant additional duties beyond their normal workload.
In general, temporary duties qualifying for extra compensation are those assigned for a minimum of one month to a maximum of 12 consecutive months. If the additional assignments are to extend longer than 12 months, supervisors should consult with Human Resources to discuss compensation options going forward.
When considering supplemental pay, supervisors should be mindful of potential internal equity issues. Additionally, supervisors must consult with Human Resources regarding overtime issues before providing significant additional responsibilities for non-exempt employees which are reasonably anticipated by the supervisor to require the employee to work outside the normal hours of employment. Supervisors should set expectations for overtime work in advance. It is the immediate supervisor’s responsibility to consult the relevant policies and procedures of the university when awarding stipends to employees.
The amount of supplemental pay an employee may receive can vary greatly based on a number of factors: duration of assignment; responsibilities of the temporary role; employee’s skills, knowledge, and performance; and employee’s pay history. Supervisors should review supplemental pay decisions with Human Resources to determine the appropriateness of the request.
Extra compensation should not be provided for:
- Temporary additional assignments that may come as result of filling in for someone while they are on vacation or other leave lasting no more than 30 working days;
- Cyclical increases in assignments (e.g., busy times of the year, whether specific to the employee or because of assisting colleagues with assignments);
- Temporary work that would change the employee’s classification from non-exempt to exempt.
- Fulfilling additional job duties as the result of a vacated position, unless the vacancy significantly affects the overall workload of an employee.
Requesting Supplemental Pay
Supplemental pay should be requested using the Staff Supplemental Pay - Supervisor Approval Form. Additionally, a memo of understanding (MOU)* may be established when additional duties extend beyond 30 days, when a position is vacated and the duties will be fulfilled by an existing employee or employees temporarily, or when a specific temporary project is assigned. The MOU between the employee, immediate supervisor, department chair/director, dean, or appropriate division vice president, and Human Resources should outline the specific extra responsibilities that are expected of the employee(s), the stipend(s), and acknowledgement that the outlined extra responsibilities are temporary. Human Resources can provide assistance in the creation of such a document.
Employees who take on work beyond the scope of their normal position who are not receiving extra compensation when they meet the criteria outlined above may address concerns with HR.
*An MOU may serve as internal guidance, but it is not a binding contract or legal agreement.