Human Resources

Policy: Salary Administration for Confidential, Managerial, and Professional Support Staff

EFFECTIVE DATE:

April 1, 1999 (replaces policy dated September 1, 1994)

AUTHORITY:

THE BOARD OF REGENTS

PURPOSE:

It is the objective of The University of Winnipeg that the salaries for support staff positions excluded from bargaining units be maintained at equitable levels when compared to similar positions within The University of Winnipeg community and other public and private sector agencies and organizations in Manitoba, subject to the availability of funds. The purpose of this policy is to define the guidelines and procedures for determining and administering any changes to the salaries of support staff excluded from bargaining units.

SCOPE:

This policy applies to all persons who are employed at The University of Winnipeg in confidential, managerial, and professional support staff positions, and who are therefore excluded from collective bargaining units.

RESPONSIBILITY:

The overall responsibility for the administration of this policy lies with the Vice-President (Finance and Administration). The Director of Human Resources is responsible for the communication, interpretation, and day-to-day administration of this policy.

Definitions

Under the terms of the Labour Relations Act (Statutes of Manitoba 1972, c. 75 - Cap. L10, Section 1), confidential, managerial, and professional employees are excluded from collective bargaining units, as follows:

(1) Confidential employees are excluded from collective bargaining units if they are employed in a confidential capacity in matters relating to labour relations.
(2) Managerial employees who perform management functions primarily are excluded from collective bargaining units.
(3) Professional employees who are, or are eligible to be, members of a professional organization that is authorized by statute in force in Manitoba, and who are required to have and apply specialized knowledge in the course of their employment, are excluded from collective bargaining units, unless a majority of professional employees wish to be included.

Position (Job) Evaluation, Evaluation Levels and Salary Ranges

In order to meet the objective described in the "Purpose" above, the salary policy requires the use of an effective and equitable system of evaluating the relative level of skill, effort, and responsibility required in confidential, managerial and professional support staff positions, and the conditions under which the work is performed. The system which The University of Winnipeg selected in 1986 is the Hay Guide - Chart Method of Position Evaluation.

The proper application and maintenance of this system requires a group of trained evaluators. The University has trained employees in a variety of employee groups and shall periodically organize the training required to maintain a pool of qualified evaluators.

All confidential, managerial and professional support staff positions shall be described, reviewed and assigned evaluation levels. This is an ongoing process to ensure that new and existing positions maintain an equitable relationship to each other.

A salary range shall be established for each evaluation level. Each salary range shall have a Maximum which exceeds the Minimum by 20%, and a Performance Maximum which exceeds the Minimum by 40%.

Salary ranges shall be reviewed each year to ensure that the salary objectives of this policy are achieved. Salary surveys shall be conducted by the Human Resources Department on a regular basis. These salary surveys shall be based on comparable classifications both within The University of Winnipeg and in public and private sector agencies and organizations in Manitoba. When required, data shall be obtained from other Western Canadian Universities. Based on the information compiled, the Director of Human Resources shall make a recommendation to the Vice-President (Finance and Administration) and the President for an annual salary range adjustment.

The annual salary range adjustment shall be effective on April 1, subject to approval by the Board of Regents.

Procedures

(1) New Position Descriptions

When a newly created position is to be filled, a position description shall be completed for evaluation, together with a Request to Fill Support Staff Position Vacancy Form.

The supervisor of the position is the person responsible for determining the duties and responsibilities assigned to the position, subject to approval of the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President.

(2) Revisions to Existing Position Descriptions

When a change in duties has occurred or is to occur, the employee and his/her immediate supervisor should review the existing position description of the employee's position. If changes are required, a revised position description accurately describing the duties and responsibilities relating to the position shall be prepared by the employee and his/her immediate supervisor, and approved by the appropriate Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President. Assistance in preparing position descriptions is available from the Human Resources Department.

All position descriptions shall be prepared on the standard University of Winnipeg position description form using the directions provided for its use.

(3) Evaluation Review Procedures

An approved position description and a Request for Classification Review Form shall be forwarded to the Human Resources Department for evaluation by a Review Committee consisting of two trained evaluators, only one of whom shall be from the Human Resources Department. The Review Committee shall assign Hay points and an evaluation level for the position description. Every attempt shall be made to complete the review within twenty (20) working days following receipt of the request. The Human Resources Department shall notify the employee and his/her supervisor of the expected date of completion if it is beyond twenty (20) working days.

When the review is completed, the Human Resources Department shall notify the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President, the supervisor and the employee concerned, in writing, of the following:

(a) The Hay point evaluation for the position; and
(b) the corresponding salary range.

(4) Evaluation Appeal Procedure

If the employee, his/her supervisor, the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President believes that the evaluation level assigned by the Review Committee is inappropriate he/she may appeal the results of the classification review by submitting an Appeal of Classification Review Form to the Director of Human Resources within twenty (20) working days of receiving the results of the classification review.

The Human Resources Department shall re-examine the appealed position description before the Director of Human Resources refers the appeal to an Appeal Committee.

The Appeal Committee shall consist of four trained members, two of whom are representatives of the University appointed by the Vice-President (Finance and Administration), and two of whom are representatives of the Excluded Support Staff Employee Group. One of the two University representatives shall be designated as Chairperson by the Director of Human Resources. No University appointee may have been a member of the Review Committee that determined the results of the classification review. The Chairperson shall select two representatives of the Excluded Support Staff Employee Group from a list of trained evaluators in the group. All members of an Appeal Committee shall have been trained in the Hay Guide - Chart Method of Position Evaluation and shall have equal voice.

The Appeal Committee shall review the position description and its Hay point evaluation. The Committee may obtain any other information it deems necessary to properly evaluate the position. The Committee may assign a new Hay point evaluation to the position or, if it determines that the evaluation level assigned by the Review Committee is appropriate, it shall deny the appeal. The Appeal Committee shall make every attempt to make a decision within twenty (20) working days of receipt of the appeal. The Human Resources Department shall notify the employee and his/her supervisor of the expected date of completion if it is beyond twenty (20) working days. The Chairperson shall communicate the decision of the Appeal Committee, in writing, to the employee, the supervisor, the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President of the results of the appeal. If the appeal is successful, the Human Resources Department shall make the appropriate modifications to the evaluation level and salary range, and communicate these modifications, in writing, to the employee, the supervisor and the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, the appropriate Vice-President, or the President.

Placement Within the Salary Range

(1) Placement at the Time of Hiring

When a new employee is hired initially, the Human Resources Officer shall determine and recommend the employee's salary within the salary range in consultation with the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President.

Normally, a new employee shall be placed at the minimum of the salary range. Placement at a higher salary within the range may be made at multiples of the step increase on the basis of competence attained through previous directly applicable education, experience and training, as agreed upon by the Human Resources Officer and the Dean, Director, Head of Administrative Unit, appropriate Vice-President, or the President. Assistance with this matter may be obtained from the Vice-President (Finance and Administration).

(2) Placement After a Transfer, Evaluation Review or Appeal

When an employee successfully transfers to a vacant position, the Dean, Director or Head of Administration Unit shall discuss the employee's salary placement within the salary range for that position with the Human Resources Officer. When a new evaluation is assigned to a position as a result of a Review or an Appeal, the Dean, Director or Head of Administrative Unit shall discuss the employee's salary placement within the salary range for that position with the Salary Administration Officer. Assistance with this matter may be obtained from the Vice-President (Finance and Administration).
In arriving at an employee's salary placement, the same consideration shall be given to the level of competence that existing employees have attained through directly applicable education, experience and training as to new employees hired.
When an employee's position has been re-evaluated upward or when he/she has successfully transferred to a vacant position with a higher evaluation and salary range, a salary increase of approximately 6% of that employee's previous salary may be awarded, subject to the following conditions:

(a) the employee's new salary shall be at or above the minimum of the higher salary range;
(b) the salary increase shall not normally place an employee at a relatively higher salary location in the higher salary range than in the lower salary range; and
(c) the salary increase shall not compensate an employee at a salary above the Performance Maximum of the higher salary range.

When an employee has successfully transferred to a vacant position with a lower evaluation and salary range, or occupies a position that has been subject to a downward re-evaluation, that employee's salary may be reduced subject to the following conditions:

(a) the salary reduction shall not result in a new salary that is below the minimum of the lower salary range;
(b) the salary reduction shall not normally place an employee at a relatively lower salary location in the lower salary range than in the higher salary range; and
(c) the salary reduction shall not compensate an employee at a salary above the Performance Maximum of the lower salary range.

In the event that an employee is successful in transferring to a vacant position; or changes salary ranges through the review or appeal process, the Human Resources Department shall inform the employee of the salary placement assigned.

Annual Salary Adjustments

Regular annual salary adjustments shall normally be effective April 1 of each year and, where possible, shall be implemented by that date. They shall be comprised of the following parts:

(1) General Adjustment - provide a salary adjustment equivalent to the adjustment in the salary ranges as approved by the Board of Regents.
(2)(a) Step Increases - based on annual performance evaluations, recognize satisfactory progress in performance by employees who have been learning and developing in their positions and are compensated between the Minimum and the Maximum of the salary range for their positions. Based on continuing satisfactory performance, a full-time employee should normally expect to move from the Minimum of the salary range to the Maximum of the range within a 5-year period at the same evaluation level.

A step increase is equal to 4% of the minimum of the salary range for an individual's position. All employees with six or more months' University service prior to April 1 who are performing satisfactorily and whose salary is below the Maximum after the general increase shall receive the step increase, except as follows:

i) No employee who has less than three months' University service prior to April 1 will be given a step increase;
ii) An employee who has more than three months' but less than six months' University service prior to April 1 who is performing satisfactorily will be given a one-half step increase equal to 2% of the minimum of the salary range for the individual's position;
iii) No employee's salary may increase beyond the Maximum by an amount greater than the value of a 3% performance increase; and
iv) The Dean, Director or Head of Administrative Unit may withhold a step increase from an employee with an identified conduct or performance problem, until that problem is resolved to the satisfaction of the Dean, Director, or Head of Administrative Unit.
OR
(2)(b) Performance Increases - based on completed annual performance evaluations, recognize meritorious performance by employees who know their positions thoroughly and are compensated between the Maximum and the Performance Maximum of the salary range for their positions. Such employees are not eligible for step increases.

A performance increase of up to 3% of the minimum of the individual's salary range may be awarded to meritorious staff whose salary is above the Maximum and below the Performance Maximum after the general increase, except as follows:

i) An employee who has less than six months' University service prior to April 1 shall not be given a performance increase;
ii) No employee's salary may increase beyond the Performance Maximum; and
iii) The Dean, Director, or Head of Administrative Unit may allocate all or part of a performance increase solely on the basis of his/her assessment of the employee's competence and performance during the previous year. Such assessments are subject to approval of the Vice-Presidents and the President.

After the Board of Regents has approved salary range adjustments and after the regular annual salary adjustments have been determined, the Director of Human Resources shall inform each employee and his/her Dean, Director, or Head of Administrative Unit of the current Hay point evaluation level and the new salary range for the employee's position and the new salary for the employee.

Market Supplements

The President may approve the addition of a special market supplement to an employee's salary and salary range based on special retention or recruitment situations. Notification of the market supplement and particulars thereof will be provided to the employee in writing by the Director of Human Resources.

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