Full-time Classified Position Employment and Compensation

Purpose:

To provide direction for initiating requests to establish and fill full-time classified positions for the college; initiating position classifications; providing compensation actions; and use of exceptional recruitment and retention incentive options for full-time college classified positions.

Definitions:

Abolishment: the removal of a position from the organizational structure.

Career group: a sub-group of an occupational family which identifies a specific occupational field common to the labor market (e.g., the Administrative and Office Support career group) and which are comprised of roles.

Certification: professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. This type of certification often requires a post-test and is awarded by a thirdparty professional organization.

Classification: the role and corresponding pay band to which a position is assigned.

College working title: college title assigned to a full-time classified position by Human Resources and reflected on college organizational charts.

Competitive salary offer: a salary adjustment provided to a full-time classified employee as a result of an outside offer (including other state agencies).

Disciplinary or performance-related salary action: a reduction in salary (minimum of 5%) applied to a full-time classified employee as a result of movement within the same role or to a different role in the same or lower pay band due to formal disciplinary action or substantial decrease in overall performance rating, and which results in the reduction of the duties of the employee.

Establishment: a classification determination made to place a new position in the organizational structure.

Exceptional recruitment and retention incentives options: established programs to assist the college with significant recruitment and employee retention problems that are critical to the college’s strategic mission and ongoing operations, which are in accordance with the annual Human Resource Delegated Authority Agreement signed between the president and VCCS chancellor, and which consist of: sign-on bonus program; referral bonus program; retention bonus; project-based incentive bonus; and additional annual leave.

Hiring manager: the cost center manager or other manager authorized to hire in an organizational unit.

In-band adjustment: a salary adjustment applied to a full-time classified employee for additional duties and responsibilities; new skills applied on the job; retention; or internal alignment; and where the employee remains in his/her current role and pay band.

Non-base pay options: includes employee recognition programs or service awards that provide lump-sum payments, recognition leave or non-monetary items to employees. These options are not included in the calculation of base pay, but are considered part of the employee’s total compensation.

Occupational family: a broad grouping of jobs that share similar vocational characteristics (e.g., the Administrative Services occupational family) and which are comprised of career groups.

Role: a broad group of occupationally-related positions that perform a range of work at progressively more skilled or knowledgeable levels (e.g., the Administrative and Office Specialist II role).

Role change: the reassignment of a full-time classified position from one role to a different role in a higher, lower, or the same pay band due to a change in duties and responsibilities.

Supplement: a non-base-pay payment that applies to specific positions under certain circumstances where employees are doing something in addition to what is normally expected of employees in similar jobs and which are designed to address unique needs of an agency and often reflect market practices used for similar jobs (e.g., call-back pay, on-call pay, or shift pay).

Temporary pay: a non-base pay salary adjustment provided to a full-time classified employee for assuming new duties and responsibilities on a temporary basis.

Unit manager: the cost center manager in an organizational unit.

Voluntary demotion: employee initiated movement of a full-time classified employee to a different role in a lower pay band.

Voluntary transfer: movement of a full-time classified employee within the same role or to a different role in the same pay band.

Policy:

As an agency of the Commonwealth and a member college of the Virginia Community College System, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College will assure compliance with all applicable federal and state personnel laws, regulations, and policies. Additionally, the college will develop and implement administrative procedures consistent with all applicable personnel laws, regulations, and policies governing position classification and compensation actions.

Procedures:

1. Establishing a new full-time position or fill a vacant position

   1. To establish a new classified position, or fill an existing vacant position in an organizational unit, the hiring manager will complete JSRCC Form 35-0904, Position Request, and forward to the Office of Human Resources.

   2. Within three (3) business days of receipt, the Office of Human Resources will validate the position number, VCCS role title, working title, assigned duties and responsibilities in order to confirm the appropriate position classification determination. Upon completion of the position review process, the Office of Human Resources will forward the automated request to the college’s Budget Office for review and funding certification. Within two (2) business days of receipt, the Budget Office will make a budget determination.

   3. If the budget manager is unable to determine appropriate funding, he or she will consult with the vice president of finance and administration. The budget manager will return request forms not approved to the Office of Human Resources with the appropriate explanation. The Office of Human Resources will inform the unit manager of the unapproved action. Approved forms will be returned to the Office of Human Resources for appropriate position classification determination.

      To facilitate timely processing, the unit manager must ensure that the Office of Human Resources receives the automated request, JSRCC Form 35-0904, Position Request, and attachments at least thirty (30) days prior to the requested effective date.

   4. Within two (2) workdays of receipt of an approved full-time position request for a classified position, Human Resources will review the request and attachments, determine the classification action to be taken, and as needed, contact the unit manager to obtain any additional information required to continue the classification process. Within ten (10) workdays, Human Resources will complete the position classification process, which includes obtaining comparator positions from other institutions, obtaining market data from DHRM, developing the position analysis report (audit report), making a role title, pay band, and college working title recommendation, generating the DHRM P-5 form, and developing the college organizational chart. Upon completion of this process, the associate vice president of human resources will confer with the unit manager regarding the recommended role, title and pay band, and college working title, and forward the completed classification package to the vice president of finance and administration for review.

      For positions in pay bands 1-5: After review by the vice president of finance and administration, the associate vice president of human resources will ensure that the new position is immediately entered into the automated personnel systems and provides the final DHRM P-5 form to the Budget Office for file retention.

      For positions in pay bands 6 and above: After review by the vice president of finance and administration, the associate vice president of human resources will immediately forward the complete position establishment package to the VCCS Human Resource Services office for approval. Upon approval from the VCCS, the associate vice president of human resources will ensure that the new position is entered into the automated personnel systems and provides the final DHRM P-5 form to the Budget Office.

      Upon completion of the above steps, the recruitment coordinator prepares the draft of the job advertisement. The budget-certified hiring request and the draft job advertisement is then provided to the hiring manager and the President’s Extended Cabinet member for final approval of the job advertisement. With both approvals, and any suggested edits, the Office of Human Resources will route the final job advertisement to Virginia Community College’s Shared Services Center to post in the required recruitment sources. The Office of Human Resources will then post the position on the college’s external and internal websites.

   5. The college’s Office of Human Resources will be responsible for coordinating and submitting position justifications, audit reports, and other supporting documentation to the VCCS. The associate vice president of human resources will monitor VCCS review of college classification requests and provide timely progress reports regarding such reviews to college management.

2. To abolish a full-time vacant position

   1. In order to abolish a vacant classified position, the hiring manager must complete JSRCC Form 35-0904, Position Request, and forward it to the Office of Human Resources.

   2. Upon receipt, the Office of Human Resources will forward the abolishment request to the college’s Budget Office for review. Within three (3) business days of receipt, the budget manager will make a budget determination and forward the completed request to the Office of Human Resources in order to initiate the abolishment action. The Office of Human Resources will communicate the final abolishment action to the unit manager and provide the completed DHRM P-5 to the Budget Office for file retention. If the budget manager is unable to determine the appropriate funding action, he or she will consult with the vice president of finance and administration.

3. To initiate classification and/or compensation actions for classified employee positions

   1. The following classification and compensation actions are available for use for fulltime classified employees:

      1. voluntary transfer
      2. voluntary demotion
      3. temporary pay
      4. role change
      5. in-band adjustment
      6. competitive salary offer
      7. disciplinary or performance related
      8. non-base pay options
      9. supplements

   2. To initiate a position classification action for a classified position, the unit manager will complete sections 1-6 of JSRCC Form 35-0400, Pay Action Form (PAF) – Full-time Classified/Wage (Hourly) Positions, and forward it to his/her respective President’s Extended Cabinet member for approval.

   3. Requested pay actions outside the scope of the college’s authority must be submitted to the VCCS Human Resource Services office for final approval. Each pay action listed below indicates the college approval authority.

   4. Requested pay actions that exceed 15% of the employee’s current salary will require a formal compensation and classification review by the Office of Human Resources as detailed in Section A above.

   5. Unit managers will ensure that each request adheres to the following guidelines:

      1. Voluntary transfer (competitive) for all pay bands: This is an employeeinitiated movement to another position in the same or different role in the same pay band via the recruitment process. Salary increase is negotiable from minimum of pay band up to a maximum of 15% above the employee’s current salary not to exceed the posted hiring range or pay band maximum. (Note: The email justification salary offer from the associate vice president of human resources will be substituted for the PAF in these instances).

         Voluntary transfer (non-competitive) for all pay bands: This can be an employee-initiated or management-initiated movement to another position in the same or different role in the same pay band. This practice will only be approved if there will be no change in supervisor. If a change in supervisor will occur, the position must be advertised through the college’s recruitment process. Employees moved to another position as a result of this pay practice will not receive a salary increase.

      2. Voluntary demotion for all pay bands: This pay practice occurs when an employee voluntarily moves to a different role in a lower pay band through the recruitment process or through non-competitive means. Voluntary demotion salary is negotiable from minimum of pay band up to the employee’s current salary and will not exceed the pay band maximum. If the employee’s current salary exceeds the maximum of the lower pay band, the college has the option of freezing the salary for up to six months after which the salary must be reduced to the maximum of the lower pay band. (Note: If the voluntary demotion occurs as a result of the recruitment process, the email justification salary offer from the associate vice president of human resources will be substituted for the PAF; if it occurs through noncompetitive means, the PAF is completed by the unit manager).

      3. Temporary pay (different role in higher or same pay band) for all pay bands: This pay practice may be applied when an employee experiences a temporary change in job duties and responsibilities for a specified period of time (i.e., assignment to a special project, reassignment during organizational changes, vacancy of a higher-level position, etc.). Temporary pay is not typically intended to cover brief recruitment periods or employee absences; however, depending on the expected length of recruitment or employee absence, it may be allowed. Temporary pay is applied as a special rate and is not incorporated as base salary.

         Salary increases for temporary pay for a higher pay band are generally 015% above current salary and will not exceed the pay band maximum. Salary increases for temporary pay for the same pay band are generally 010% above current salary and will not exceed the pay band maximum. A beginning and an ending date must be established for receipt of temporary pay.

         If a salary increase is requested for an employee as a result of the temporary pay practice, the unit manager will include a justification on the PAF describing the selection of that particular employee among similarly skilled employees in the work unit for the temporary assignment.

      4. Role change (downward, upward, or lateral) for pay bands 1-5: A role change is a non-competitive action which typically occurs when an employee remains in his/her current position but the role changes.

         1. Downward role change: Occurs when a position is changed to a different role in a lower pay band. There is no change in salary as a result of the downward role change, unless the salary is above the maximum of the lower pay band, in which case the salary is reduced after six (6) months to the maximum of the pay band.

         2. Upward role change: Occurs when a position is changed to a different role in a higher pay band. The salary must be increased at least to the minimum of the higher pay band. Salary increases for upward role changes are generally 0-10% above current salary and cannot exceed the pay band maximum.

         3. Lateral role change: Occurs when a position is changed to a different role in the same pay band. A salary increase of generally 0-10% may be awarded for lateral role changes; however, the salary cannot exceed the pay band maximum.

         Role changes normally occur when there has been a gradual change of duties which are assigned over an extended period of time or to correct a prior misclassification. Unit managers may request a role change after the full-time classified employee has performed the new duties and responsibilities for six (6) months. Salary adjustments will be made effective the first pay period immediately after the six (6) month period.

      5. In-band adjustment for pay bands 1-5: This pay action is used to increase the base salary of an employee due to (1) changes in job duties and responsibilities, (2) application of new knowledge/skills/abilities (KSAs) from education, certification, licensure, etc., (3) retention, or (4) internal alignment, salary compression, and other internal inequities.

         1. Changes in job duties and responsibilities: Changes in duties must represent 15% or more of the total work time percentage amount.

            The employee must successfully perform the new duties and responsibilities for at least six (6) months before a change in salary will be processed. Therefore, salary adjustments will be made effective the first pay period immediately after the six (6) month period. Unit managers may request generally a 0-10% increase.

         2. Application of new KSAs from education, certification, licensure, etc.: Employees who attain professional certifications, degrees, or licenses related to their job responsibilities may be eligible to receive a fixed rate or fixed percentage amount as determined by the college at the beginning of each fiscal year. Refer to the In-Band Adjustment Schedule for Application of New KSAs.

            Retroactive payments will not be permitted. Employees must secure advance approval of their planned educational goal from their supervisor in order to be compensated once the goal is attained. Credentials that are requirements for a job by state code or are required for selection will be taken into consideration at the time starting pay is negotiated and cannot be used to support this type of pay adjustment.

         3. Retention: In-band adjustments for retention are granted to all employees in a particular functional area to avoid turnover. This action can be initiated by college management or the associate vice president of human resources due to salary market changes, labor market fluctuations, extreme turnover problems, etc. Unit managers may request generally a 0-10% increase.

         4. Internal alignment: An increase may be granted to one or more employees to align the employee’s salary more closely with those of other employees within a work unit who have comparable levels of training and experience, similar duties and responsibilities, similar performance and expertise, competencies, and/or knowledge and skills. Unit managers may request generally a 0-10% increase.

         An employee may receive more than one in-band adjustment (including lateral role change) within a fiscal year; however, base salary may not exceed the maximum of the assigned salary range. In-band adjustments which total more than 15% of the employee’s base salary within a fiscal year will require a formal compensation and classification review by the Office of Human Resources. Employees at the maximum of their assigned salary ranges are not eligible for in-band adjustments.

      6. Competitive salary offer for all pay bands: This pay action is used to increase the base salary of an employee when the employee receives a documented offer of employment with a higher salary from another organization to include other state agencies. Unit managers may request a salary increase up to the amount of the outside offer but cannot exceed the outside offer or exceed the maximum of the pay band. Additionally, the employee will be required to provide written documentation of the outside salary offer. This must be attached to the PAF prior to submission to the President’s Extended Cabinet member.

      7. Disciplinary or performance-related for all pay bands: This pay practice occurs when an employee’s duties and responsibilities are reduced due to disciplinary or performance-related issues. Based on the reduced duties, the employee may remain in the same position or be moved to another position. Additionally, the reduced duties may also result in movement to a lower pay band. In either case, movement under this pay practice requires that the employee’s base salary be reduced by a minimum of 5%. If moved to a lower pay band, the salary cannot exceed the maximum of the new pay band.

      8. Non-base pay options: This pay action provides lump-sum payments or leave that are not included in the employee’s base salary as outlined in the Employee Recognition Program (Reynolds Policy 3-30, College Employee Recognition and Retention Incentive Programs). Lump sum payment of up to $5,000 per fiscal year and/or up to 5 days (40 hours) recognition leave per leave year may be awarded for substantial achievements or accomplishments outside the standard responsibilities of the position and which contribute to the strategic objectives of the college.

   6. Upon approval of the President’s Extended Cabinet member, the signed form is submitted to the college’s Office of Human Resources for logging and tracking. Within one (1) workday of receipt, the Office of Human Resources will forward the logged form to the college’s Budget Office for review and funding approval. Within three (3) workdays of receipt, the budget manager will make a budget determination. Approved forms will be returned to the Office of Human Resources for appropriate position classification determination. If the budget manager is unable to determine appropriate funding, he or she will consult with the vice president of finance and administration. The budget manager will return request forms not approved to the Office of Human Resources with the appropriate explanation. The Office of Human Resources will inform the unit manager of the unapproved action.

      To facilitate timely processing, the unit manager must ensure that the Office of Human Resources receives the approved full-time position pay action form and attachments at least ten (10) workdays prior to the requested effective date.

   7. Within three (3) workdays of receipt, the associate vice president of human resources will complete his/her review of the requested action and make a classification/compensation recommendation to the vice president of finance and administration.

   8. For positions in pay bands 1-5: After review by the vice president of finance and administration, the associate vice president of human resources will ensure that the approved pay practice is entered into the automated personnel systems for the next available pay period and confirm the pay action via the approval letter to the unit manager with copies to the budget manager and the President’s Extended Cabinet member. The associate vice president of human resources will also provide written notification of the approved pay action to the classified employee.

   9. For positions in pay bands 6 and above: After review by the vice president of finance and administration, the associate vice president of human resources will immediately forward the complete pay action request package to the VCCS Human Resource Services office for approval. Upon approval from the VCCS, the associate vice president of human resources will ensure that the new pay action is entered into the automated personnel systems and confirm its establishment via the approval letter to the unit manager with copies to the budget manager and the President’s Extended Cabinet member. The Office of Human Resources will also provide written notification of the approved pay action to the classified employee.

4. Supplement pay for classified positions

   1. Supplements are non-base-pay payments that apply to specific positions under certain circumstances. Supplements apply to situations where employees are doing something in addition to what is normally expected of employees in similar jobs. Supplements are designed to address unique needs of an agency and often reflect market practices used for similar jobs.

   2. College organizational units permitted to use supplemental pay adjustments include the Department of Police and Facilities Management and Planning. Supplemental pay adjustment plans must be submitted to the Office of Human Resources by January 10 of each year for approval prior to implementation.

   3. Time worked under the category of supplemental pay must be included in the employee’s regular weekly timesheet and will be used to compute overtime pay when the actual work hours exceed forty (40) hours in one week.

   4. Types of supplements available for Reynolds

      1. Call-back pay: when employees are called back to work during non-work hours and the college chooses to pay them for a minimum number of hours, even though the employee actually may have worked less than the specified minimum time.

      2. On-call pay: when the employee is required to be available to return to work and the on-call assignment is so restrictive that it prevents the employee from effectively using the time for personal benefit. On-call pay may be part of the employee’s regular work schedule or time worked in addition to the regular work schedule.

      3. Shift pay: a supplement generally used when the department manager has demonstrated a need based on staffing problems or market conditions for shifts that do not conform to the first shift or 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A five (5) percent increase is paid for shift differential. (Note: Unit manager must complete JSRCC Form 35-0400, Pay Action Form (PAF) – Full-time Classified/Wage (Hourly) Positions to initiate the in-band adjustment for shift pay.)

5. Exceptional recruitment and retention options for classified positions

   1. The President’s Extended Cabinet member is strongly encouraged to consult with the associate vice president of human resources during the development of the requested recruitment and/or retention incentive option documentation.

   2. At least ten (10) days prior to the start of the retention program, the President’s Extended Cabinet member will submit the completed request(s) to the budget manager for funding certification. Upon funding certification, the budget manager will forward to the vice president of finance and administration, and the president for approval. The president will seek final approval from the VCCS chancellor.

   3. The request for an exceptional recruitment and/or retention option for an individual employee will require the completion of:

      1. JSRCC Form No. 35-0400, Pay Action Form (PAF) for Full-time Classified/Wage (Hourly) Positions, for classified or wage/hourly employees

   4. The request for an exceptional recruitment and/or retention option for multiple employees will require the college memorandum format, JSRCC Form 20-0015, Memorandum template.

   5. Upon approval, the signed request is submitted to the college’s Office of Human Resources for logging and tracking. The associate vice president human resources will review the approved request for compliance with VCCS and DHRM policy, and will then forward to the leave administrator and the VCCS Shared Services Center for processing and pay. If the request is not approved for funding or if it is not approved by the vice president of finance and administration or the president, the budget manager will return the request with an appropriate explanation to the associate vice president of human resources. The associate vice president of human resources will inform the unit manager and/or President’s Extended Cabinet member of the unapproved action.

   6. The associate vice president of human resources will generate the congratulatory letters, and he or she will ensure that signed promissory agreements are obtained from those employees receiving over $500.00 in bonus payments. Finally, the associate vice president of human resources will ensure that the final employee packets are assembled for distribution to affected employees and signed promissory agreements are returned to the Office of Human Resources and filed in each employee’s official personnel file and with the college’s Accounting Office.

   7. Requests for bonus payments and incentive options are available as follows:

      1. Sign-on bonus program: Bonuses of up to $10,000 may be awarded to new external employees agreeing to work for a specified period of one year or more. Payment may be paid as a lump sum or as scheduled payments. The employee will be required to sign a formal agreement to include satisfactory performance expectations and pay-back terms if requirements are not met. Justification of this request must be provided in writing or on the PAF, and the president and VCCS chancellor must approve all monetary requests, in advance, under this program.

      2. Project-based bonus program: Bonuses of up to $10,000 may be awarded for any one project or a combination of project milestones to encourage employees in specific positions to remain employed for the duration of key projects that are critical to the college’s operation or mission. Employee(s) must agree to remain employed for a period of one year or more, depending on the length of the project. Employee(s) will be required to sign a formal agreement to include satisfactory performance expectations and pay-back terms if requirements are not met. The unit manager must seek approval of the President’s Extended Cabinet member and the president in advance of the project assignment. Additionally, VCCS chancellor approval is required. Other criteria include:

         1. complete description of critical project
         2. dates of project and milestone completion dates
         3. list of eligible participants
         4. timing of payments
         5. full cost of project
         6. justification as to how and why project supports college’s institutional goals and objectives
         7. identification of funding to support project
         8. impact of bonus on similar or other positions

      3. Referral program: A one-time bonus of up to $1,500 may be awarded to a current employee for the referral of valid external job applicants for critical college positions. The vacant position must be designated as a critical position prior to recruitment by Human Resources because of the position’s inability to generate acceptable applicant pools. Prior to advertisement of each critical position, the President’s Extended Cabinet and the president will determine the amount of the referral bonus. The Office of Human Resources will be responsible for communicating the referral bonus eligibility information regarding the critical position to all classified staff. Other criteria include:

         1. Hiring managers/supervisors and agency recruiting staff are not eligible to participate in bonus program;
         2. Referred applicants must not have an active job application on file with the agency;
         3. A referring employee must be an active college employee in order to receive the referral payment;
         4. One-half of the referral payment will be made when the new employee begins work, and the remainder will be paid once the new employee completes the probationary period.

      4. Upfront annual leave program: Up to 30 days (240 hours) of annual leave may be provided to new employees as an incentive to accept employment with the college. A formal written agreement must be signed by the employee including requirements for satisfactory performance, duration of employment, and pay-back terms if the agreement is not met. Justification of this request must be provided on the PAF; the president and the VCCS chancellor must approve all requests of annual leave under this program.

6. Documentation and reporting requirements

   1. The Office of Human Resources will maintain complete documentation of all personnel actions in accordance with DHRM policy and procedure.

   2. Personnel action requests that require the approval of the VCCS Chancellor’s Office will be coordinated and submitted by the college’s Office of Human Resources. Requests not requiring advance VCCS approval will be subject to postaudit review by DHRM and/or the Virginia Community College System office (VCCS).

   3. The college’s Office of Human Resources will provide an annual summary of personnel action requests to the President’s Extended Cabinet in order to identify compensation trends or problems.

Other Information:

The college’s Office of Human Resources is responsible for the official interpretation of these procedures. Questions regarding the application of these procedures should be directed to the associate vice president of human resources.

References

Code of Virginia, Chapter 12, Title 2.2, Section 1201

Virginia Community College System (VCCS) Policy No. 3.0.9, Classified Employees

Department of Human Resource Management Policy No. 1.15, Employee Recognition and Engagement

Department of Human Resource Management Policy No. 2.20, Types of Employment

Department of Human Resource Management Policy No. 3.05, Compensation

In-Band Adjustment Schedule for Application of New KSAs

Reynolds Policy  3-30, College Employee Recognition and Retention Incentive Programs

JSRCC Form 20-0015, Memorandum Template

JSRCC Form 35-0400, Pay Action Form (PAF) – Full-time Classified/Wage (Hourly) Positions

JSRCC Form 35-0904, Position Request (Word version of 35-0904)