Supplemental Pay Policy

I. Introduction

The University of North Carolina Asheville recognizes that certain circumstances may warrant additional temporary compensation, also known as supplemental pay, to EHRA (exempt from the State Human Resources Act) Non-Faculty employees and SHRA (subject to the State Human Resources Act) employees for work performed beyond the employment agreement or contract (i.e. a supplemental assignment).

The objective of this policy is to explain the conditions under which an employee may receive additional temporary compensation and the approval process that must be followed.  The Supplemental Pay Policy does not apply to or supersede personnel policies such as “Dual Employment” or “External Professional Activities of Faculty and Other Professional Staff.”

II. Scope

This policy applies to EHRA Non-Faculty and SHRA staff employees in permanent positions. This regulation applies to additional temporary compensation paid to employees from all UNC Asheville sources.

SHRA employees non-exempt from (i.e. subject to) FLSA may receive supplemental pay for instructional and/or research related activities beyond the scope of their assigned duties; however, SHRA non-exempt employees are covered under the Compensatory Time Policy for extra hours worked in their home department.

The Supplemental Pay Policy for Faculty is available Section 2.9.4 of the Faculty Handbook.

III. Definitions

A. EHRA Non-Faculty  – staff employees in positions that are designated as exempt from the provisions of the State Human Resources Act and are classified in one of the following categories:

1. Senior Academic and Administrative Officer (Tier I and Tier II), or

2. Instructional, Research or Public Service.

B. SHRA Employees  – staff employees in positions that are subject to the State Human Resources Act.

C. Senior Officer– current Senior Officers (or Senior Staff) at UNC Asheville are:  Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellors, Chief of Staff, University General Counsel, and Senior Administrator of University Enterprises/Director of Athletics.

D. Compensation Within the Employee’s Appointment/Contract Period – An employee’s regular annual salary represents the full compensation paid to the employee for duties to be performed within the scope of the appointment/contract as stated in the employee’s appointment letter.

E. Home Department – the department to which the employee is assigned to work in the course of performing the duties associated with the employee’s permanent position.

F. Appointment/Contract Period – the length of assignment under the employee’s appointment or contract.  Typically contracts and appointments are for nine, ten, eleven or twelve months.

G. Supplemental Assignment – Temporary, significant increases in responsibility during the employee’s normal work hours or contract period or extra duties performed beyond the scope of the employee’s job description and outside of normal work hours or that add extra work hours in addition to those spent on normal job duties.

H. Supplemental Compensation– compensation paid to an employee by the university from UNC Asheville sources, in excess of the employee’s regular annual salary for the performance of additional duties beyond the scope of the employee’s contract or appointment period.  Such compensation may be within or outside of the employee’s contract or appointment period.

1. Additional Compensation within the Employee’s Contract/Appointment Period:  Compensation paid by UNC Asheville to an employee from any source that is approved and is in addition to the employee’s regular annual salary as stated in the employee’s appointment letter/contract.

2. Additional Compensation Outside of an Employee’s Contract/Appointment Period:  Compensation received by an employee from UNC Asheville sources that is received outside of the stated appointment period and is in addition to the employee’s annual base salary as stated in the employee’s appointment letter/contract. For example, a 9-month employee may be approved to work 10 months in any given year. Note:  There is not an outside-of-contract period for 12-month employees.

IV. Policy

Staff employees are occasionally assigned administrative or instructional duties that are not associated with their existing appointment, nor anticipated to become regular assignments on a permanent basis.  In these cases, additional temporary compensation may be appropriate.  For example, an employee may be assigned supervisory duties for four months to cover the responsibilities of a supervisor out on extended leave.  Interim appointments to a higher level of administrative responsibility, such as interim director or head of a unit, may also justify additional compensation for a limited period of time.

The Supplemental Pay Policy for staff is intended to address two situations:

  • Temporary and significant increases in responsibility during the employee’s normal work hours or contract period.  Administrative assignments are included in this category.
  • Extra duties performed outside the employee’s job description and outside of normal work hours or that adds extra work hours in addition to those spent on normal job duties.  Examples include, but are not limited to: summer session assignments, grant activity, course development, and staff teaching assignments.

Supplemental pay is not a bonus for performance.  Employees who are eligible for overtime under FLSA regulations may not be given supplemental pay in lieu of overtime.

Supplemental pay is not authorized for activities and assignments that are reasonable expectations of an individual’s current appointment on a temporary basis, such as special projects, task forces, campus committee assignments, etc.

A supplemental assignment should not exceed six (6) months.  Justification for an extension request must be presented through the normal approval request process outlined in the procedures section of this policy.

Limits on Supplemental (Additional) Compensation:

Limits on additional temporary compensation represent the maximum amount an employee may be paid from UNC Asheville sources and are based upon the employee’s annual contract or the salary rate as stated in the appointment letter.  The limit differs depending on whether the employee receives the supplemental compensation within or outside of their contract/appointment period and the position classification.

A. Limits on Additional Compensation Paid Within the Contract/Appointment Period

1. EHRA Non-Faculty Employee – The maximum additional compensation that may be received during an EHRA Non-Faculty employee’s appointment period is limited to 25% of the annual salary earned during the specified period unless extraordinary compelling justification (based on the level of the position and the length of the assignment) is provided and approval for an exception is obtained from the Chancellor.  Approval by the UNC Board of Governors may also be required, based on the salary increase guidelines at the time of the action.

2. SHRA Employee – The maximum additional compensation that may be earned during a fiscal year or 12-month period for an SHRA employee is 19.5% per month of the employee’s monthly salary (i.e. annual salary divided by twelve).  Any exceptions must be approved by the Chancellor, and may require pre-approval by the Office of State Personnel.

3. State policy prohibits using accrued leave for time spent on supplemental assignments.

B. Limits on Additional Compensation Paid Outside of Contract/Appointment Period

Total additional compensation that may be received outside of an employee’s contract/appointment period (i.e. three months for a 9-month employee), would be equal to the annual salary divided by the number of appointment months multiplied by the number of non-appointment/contract months. For example, a 9-month employee with a full-time annual salary of $36,000 would have a summer salary cap of $12,000 ($36,000/9 = $4,000, $4,000 x 3=$12,000). This section does not apply to 12-month employees since there is not an outside of appointment period for 12-month employees.

C. Under this policy, employees with less than full-time appointments (i.e. less than 40 hours per week or 1.0 FTE) are eligible for supplemental pay at the part-time rate until they reach the equivalent of 1.0 FTE rate.  Once 1.0 FTE is reached, supplemental pay limits apply as described in this section.

V. Procedures

The information below outlines procedures for approval of and payment for significant assignments that warrant supplemental pay.  In no case shall supplemental payment be paid as or construed to be a bonus for performance.  If the supervisor or approving administrator has questions concerning the relationship of work to be performed to an employee’s normal job responsibilities, he or she should consult with Human Resources for guidance.

A. Scheduling the additional work

An additional work assignment outside of the home department should be scheduled outside of the employee’s normal work hours.  The additional assignment:

1. must not interfere with the staff member’s normal duties,
2. must be outside the scope of the employee’s normal job responsibilities, and

3. must be carried out at times other than during the normal working hours established for the full-time employment responsibility of that staff member.  In extraordinary circumstances, when justified, additional activities for pay must take place during the course of the employee’s normal working hours (for example teaching a class or workshop) – such exceptions must be approved in advance.  Paid leave may not be used to account for the time lost from the home department that the employee is working the additional assignment.  An alternate work schedule must be approved in writing and forwarded to Human Resources for inclusion in the employee’s official personnel record.

B. For temporary, significant increases in responsibility during the employee’s normal work hours or contract period (i.e. such as an interim assignment to cover supervisory duties for a vacant position):

1. The supervisor will complete a Personnel Action Request Form (PARF) and must be approved by the appropriate administrators (Senior Officer, Department Head, Dean,  budget officer, etc.) as indicated on the form.

2. The approved request must be submitted to Human Resources for final review and processing.

3. The payment will be included in the employee’s regular pay cycle for the length of time indicated on the PARF.  If the assignment is extended, a revised PARF must be processed.

C. For an additional work assignment (or extra duties) beyond the scope of the employee’s job description and outside of normal work hours:

1. Formal, written approval for the additional work assignment and compensation must be obtained prior to beginning work on the assignment. The additional assignment supervisor completes the Supplemental Assignment Form, obtains the required signatures and sends the form to Human Resources at least one week prior to the start date for the assignment.

The Department authorizing the supplemental assignment must determine, through the division head or the division budget officer, the funding source(s) and availability of funds. The form must be approved by the Senior Officer for the employing department, and must also be approved by the employee’s home department supervisor.

2. The approved form must be submitted to Human Resources for processing at least one week prior to the assignment start date. The Supplemental Assignment Form will be retained in the employee’s personnel file.

3. After the work has been completed, payment(s) for the supplemental assignment will be included in the employee’s monthly pay.  A Payroll Request Form must be completed by the assignment supervisor and submitted to Human Resources by the 10th day of the month for inclusion in the employee’s pay for that month.  For the month of December, an earlier due date may be required for submission of the form, based upon an early pay date for that month only.

Please note that the university cannot pay an employee in advance for work that has not yet been performed.

Reference Materials:

UNC Board of Governors Policy 300.2.13

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