Salary Changes & Adjustments

Issued: January 1, 1993

Revised: December 1, 2015

All job changes including promotions, reclassifications, one-time special arrangements and acting appointments must be reviewed by your CU Human Resources Client Manager before being communicated and implemented. 

Merit Increase

Within available resources, merit increases are granted in recognition of exceptional performance.

Promotional Increase

A promotion is an advancement to a different position in a higher salary grade with a higher level of accountability and increased responsibility. Promotional salary increases maybe granted concurrently with the advancement of an employee from his or her present position to a position in a higher salary grade.

Reclassification

• Upgrades:A position which is reevaluated and reclassified to a higher salary grade is considered an upgrade. The salary will be reviewed for an increase if the upgrade is based on additional responsibility. Upgrades differ from promotions in that the employee is not changing jobs, but is taking on additional responsibility.
• Downgrades: A position which is reevaluated and reclassified to a lower salary grade is considered a downgrade. The salary may be reviewed for a decrease in a position which is downgraded.

One-Time Special Arrangements

To recognize completion of a special assignment of work performed above and beyond the regular job duties, additional compensation may be paid. Such adjustments are not normally added to base pay, but are processed as additional compensation via Labor Accounting in People@Columbia (PAC). Refer to the additional compensation policy for more information.

Supplemental compensation that exceeds 10 percent of base salary or $10,000 (whichever is less) during the course of the year requires submission of a written justification and approval of the Vice President for Human Resources. At the Medical Center, the guidelines will be administered through the Chief Human Resources Officer, CUMC.

Acting Appointment

An appointment for an "acting position" is made in order to compensate an employee who is formally assigned to a higher level position on a temporary basis.

Among the variables to be considered in determining the appropriate salary in an "acting" capacity are:

• the difference between acting designee's actual classification grade and the vacant position's grade.
• the scope of the higher level job which will be performed.

The recommended salary adjustment for an "acting" appointment should not be less than the minimum of the higher grade job which will be performed, and not to exceed the salary increase the employee would receive if promoted to that position.

The acting appointment must be for a minimum of 30 consecutive days and may not normally exceed six months. The acting appointment should be implemented by processing a Personnel Action Form (PAF), including a temporary increase to the person’s base salary.