Merit Pay (Staff) Procedure - 63.04.07
College Policy Number/Title:
Howard Community College sets high standards for employee performance while recognizing the need for cost-of-living increases to help counteract the effects of rising prices in the economy. At the same time, and to foster and acknowledge excellent performance, the college adopted a system for determining pay that defines the expected level of performance for staff, while recognizing staff.
A cost-of-living adjustment is an increase in pay or benefits that often depends on the rising cost of goods and services. Any cost-of-living adjustment is added to the employee’s base salary or base hourly rate annually. Merit adjustments are performance-based, one-time adjustments and are not added to the employee’s base salary or base hourly rate; this adjustment is referred to as a non-base merit adjustment.
The college reviews staff salary schedules to ensure salary ranges remain competitive.
Cost of Living Adjustments
Cost-of-living adjustments are contingent upon available resources.
Any cost-of-living adjustment is not impacted by job transfer or change in position within the college.
Employee eligibility is as follows:
|
Hire date range |
Eligibility |
|
July 1 – September 30 |
Full cost-of-living adjustment |
|
October 1 – December 31 |
¾ of cost-of-living adjustment |
|
January 1 – March 31 |
Half of cost-of-living adjustment |
|
April 1 – June 30 |
Not eligible |
Non-Base Merit Adjustments
Staff who earn a 3 or 4 on a performance evaluation are eligible for a tiered merit adjustment. Employees who earn a 1 or 2 are not eligible for a merit adjustment.
Non-base merit salary adjustments are available for employees who change positions within the college during the fiscal year in accordance with existing college employee performance policies and procedures.
Merit adjustments are contingent upon available resources and are detailed in the following chart:
|
Hire date range |
Eligibility |
|
July 1 – September 30 |
Full merit adjustment |
|
October 1 – December 31 |
¾ of merit adjustment |
|
January 1 – end of February |
Half of merit adjustment |
|
March 1 – June 30 |
Not eligible |
Non-Base Merit Adjustment for Staff on Unpaid and/or Unprotected Leave
Staff on extended periods of unpaid and/or unprotected leave during the year may have reduced merit increases.
|
Calendar Months Worked |
Eligibility |
|
Nine or more full months |
Full merit adjustment |
|
Six to eight full months |
¾ of merit adjustment |
|
Three to five full months |
Half of merit adjustment |
|
Two full months or less |
Not eligible |
Staff Exceeding Maximum Grade Placement
Staff who would exceed the maximum of the salary range for their grade are eligible to earn additional pay, but the portion of pay that exceeds the maximum of the salary range will not accrue to the base salary. It is paid as a non-base adjustment with the base salary remaining at the maximum.
Effective Date: 07/01/23
President's Office Use: CHRO