Chapter 33: Additional Pay (Supplemental Pay) Policy
33.1 Policy Statement
This policy provides guidance to pay full-time (40 hours per week) staff and faculty employees additional compensation beyond their regular pay as defined below. This policy does not apply to overtime pay for non-exempt employees, which are employees who work in classified non-exempt positions required to be paid time and one-half (1½) of their regular hourly rate for overtime. Management is responsible for providing reasonable and appropriate justification for all types of additional pay requests. The University of Texas at El Paso’s Human Resources Compensation Guidelines should be consulted when evaluating all additional pay requests to ensure that appropriate approval and processing procedures are followed and to ensure adequate and timely payments. This policy does not apply to students since they are not paid through the additional pay venue.
33.2 Types of Additional Pay
33.2.1 Staff Related Employee Supplements
33.2.1.1 One-Time Payments for Staff Employees - Payments for additional duties performed beyond an employee’s current scope of responsibilities for a period of less than one (1) month in duration.
33.2.1.1.1 Eligibility: All full-time staff employees are eligible for one-time payments.
33.2.1.1.2 Approvals: Departments must follow their own internal review and approval processes when determining the need for a one-time payment after consulting with the Human Resources (HR) Workforce Management Team, to include:
- A detailed written justification (memo and/or email) for the one-time payment outlining duties to be performed, projected duration, and funding source/cost center;
- Approval of the respective Dean and Provost, for units reporting to the Provost, or the respective Vice President for all other units, and the President’s designee;
- Once approvals are obtained, the requestor will submit a request for additional pay and attach the approval for the desired payment. If a request for additional pay is initiated prior to gathering the appropriate approvals, it will be returned to the creator. Best practice is to collect all relevant approvals prior to performance of any additional duties. Payment will be rendered after the approved work is completed.
33.2.1.2 Interim/Temporary Assignments - Occasionally it may be necessary to temporarily assign an employee to a job other than his or her regular job. If a staff employee is temporarily assigned to an existing job in a salary grade higher than his/her regular job and the employee performs the principal duties and assumes the principal responsibilities of the higher-paid job for periods longer than eight weeks, or the employee's job duties have been substantially expanded resulting in a substantial increase in the effort required, the employee will be considered to have received a temporary promotion. The HR Workforce Management Team should be consulted prior to the staff employee’s temporary reassignment in order to facilitate an appropriate and fair compensation amount. The staff employee's base salary should be increased in accordance with the policy for promotions for the relevant period.
33.2.1.2.1 Eligibility: All full-time staff employees are eligible.
33.2.1.2.2 Approvals: Departments must follow their own internal review and approval processes when determining the need for a supplemental payment after consulting with HR, to include:
- Completion of the Human Resources Advisory Committee (HRAC) form. The HRAC Form is available via the University’s website under Human Resources-Forms Library-Human Resources Forms section;
- Approval of the respective Dean and Provost, for units reporting to the Provost, or the respective Vice President for all other units. The Provost Office submits the approval to Human Resources for placement on the next committee meeting’s agenda;
- The committee will review and discuss the request and make recommendation(s) to the Executive Vice President (EVP), as the President’s approving designee;
- HR Workforce Management Team will notify the department requestor of the EVP's decision via email;
- Once approvals are obtained, the requestor will submit a request for additional pay and attach the HRAC approval of the desired payment. If a request for additional pay is initiated prior to gathering the appropriate approvals, it will be returned to the creator. Best practice is to collect all relevant approvals prior to beginning the interim/temporary assignment. Payment will be rendered after the approved work is completed. Staff receiving additional pay will be appointed to receive payment through the remainder of the current academic year of the request.
33.2.2 Faculty Related Supplements
33.2.2.1 Eligibility: All full-time faculty employees are eligible.
33.2.2.2 Interim/Temporary Assignments: Additional pay for temporary assignments made with faculty must be approved by the Dean’s Office or school designee and Provost’s Office before the services commence. When a faculty member works for a department in a school other than the employing school, the Deans of both schools and Provost’s Office must review and approve the supplemental payments.
33.2.2.3 Overload: Faculty teaching classes in excess of their respective course load requirements. Overload based payments are not included in the employee’s budgeted annual salary and require approval by the employing Dean and Provost’s Office.
33.2.2.4 Approvals: Departments must follow their own internal review and approval processes when determining the need for an overload supplemental payment after consulting with the Provost’s Office and before the assignment begins, to include:
- Completion of the Supplement Authorization Request (SAR) form
- Approvals from Dean or College Administrative Officer
- Approval from Research and Innovation if request is grant funded
- Approval from the Provost’s Office (Provost’s Office will obtain approval from President’s Office)
33.2.2.4.1 Once the approvals are obtained, requestor will submit a request for additional pay and attach the SAR approval of the desired payment. If a request for additional pay is initiated prior to gathering the appropriate approvals, it will be returned to the creator. Best practice is to collect all relevant approvals prior to beginning interim/temporary assignment. Payment will be rendered after work is completed. Faculty receiving additional pay will be appointed to receive payment through the current semester of the academic year of the request.
33.2.2.5 Maymesters, Wintermesters, and Minimesters: Additional payments will be processed by HR, Payroll, and Budget as approved requests are received from the Provost’s Office.
- One-Time Merit Payments - One time merit payments should be addressed through the annual budget process for recognition of performance or significant accomplishments.
- Requests for faculty supplements and communication (cell phone) allowances will be reviewed each fiscal year on a case-by-case basis by the employing Dean and Provost’s Office.
33.3 Related Policies and Disclaimers
Independent contractors and consultants: Independent contractors and consultants are not University employees. A University employee or a previous employee who has terminated his/her relationship with the University and is engaged as a consultant must be paid through an Authorization for Personal Services (Authorization for Personal Services (APS) Form) as provided in this policy.
33.4 Guidelines for Additional Pay
Once approvals have been received, please complete and submit the additional pay form and attach approvals.
33.5 Forms
Both APS and SAR forms must be submitted prior to the performance period of the individual’s assignment. Timely submission of the requests will help to avoid delays in payment or compensation. Use of the APS or SAR forms are never appropriate to obtain approval to compensate student employees for participation on projects or other types of work performed.
33.5.1 APS forms (consultant request forms) are also used to request engagement of non-UTEP employees to support research and training efforts. APS forms must be submitted for review and approval for use of available funds under a sponsored project prior to the performance of any services. The services to be rendered must be justified in the appropriate part of the form, must be related to the activities of the sponsored project, must be reasonable and prudent, and in most cases, must be included in the sponsored project’s agency’s approved budget.
33.5.2 SAR forms are used to request supplemental pay for UTEP employees. Teaching and administrative overload supplemental pay is not allowable on sponsored projects. In most cases, these types of costs are the responsibility of the University. In rare cases, where a certain expertise or service can be rendered by a full-time UTEP employee, the SAR form must be used. This effectively results in the SAR form serving as an Intra-University Consultant form. In order to allow the intra-university consultation or services cost to be charged to a sponsored project, the request must meet the following minimum regulatory requirements:
- Must be across departmental lines
- Must be outside of regular duty hours
- Must be outside of regular scope of work
Once the above requirements have been met, a SAR form (intra-university consultant request form) must be submitted for review and approval for available funds under a sponsored project prior to the performance of any services. The services to be rendered must be justified in appropriate part of the form, must be related to the activities of the sponsored project, must be reasonable and prudent, and in most cases, must be included in the sponsored project’s agency’s approved budget.
