Prior to review at the University level, the director or the director’s designee approves all personnel actions including hiring, termination, temporary or permanent reclassifications, and temporary or permanent in-grade salary increases. This applies to all staff positions paid for by any funding source. The director’s office review includes equity considerations across the school. The dean’s office also needs to approve these transactions. Outside of legislatively authorized pay increases, changing a position’s salary, compensation grade, or job profile requires advance approval from Compensation.

Employees must be current on all required UW trainings to receive a salary increase.

General Merit Salary Increases

The availability of general merit is determined by the Legislature and/or the University. When state-funded staff do not receive general merit salary increases, staff funded by sponsored research or self-sustaining activities also do not receive general merit increases.

In-grade Salary Increases

When the position’s grade level is appropriate given the position’s level of responsibility, a salary adjustment within the current grade may be requested, based on:

• Change in level of duties and responsibilities
• Meritorious performance resulting in an increased level of functioning
• Market-related pressures (external equity); keep in mind that UW does periodic staff salary studies to keep its salaries aligned with similar employers but does not aim to meet private industry salaries
• Retention: an employment offer or active recruitment from a source outside the University, where there is potential loss of an individual which would result in a major negative impact on mission-critical, core operations.
• Misalignment of salary relationships (internal equity): where an individual’s current salary is significantly misaligned with salary levels currently paid for similar positions within SEFS or the University.

To request an in-grade salary increase, please email the SEFS HR Manager with the employee’s name and select only ONE of the reasons above for the salary increase request. Please also provide:

• A justification paragraph for the reason selected for the salary increase.
• The requested effective date of the salary change.
• The new requested salary as a whole dollar amount.
• Answer about whether the employee has a performance review on record from the past 12 months.
• Answer about whether the employee has received an in-grade or position review salary increase in the past 12 months.

Full Review of Position

When there has been significant change in the position’s level of responsibility (supervisory, fiscal, policy development, greater level of independence, or higher level of knowledge or skills needed), there should be a full review of the position rather than an in-grade salary adjustment. A position review without a salary increase may be requested if there has been a recent in-grade salary increase approved or the employee’s current salary is at an appropriate level for the new position.

This process also applies to monthly-paid classified or academic employee where the unit’s administration believes the position meets one or more of the criteria for the professional staff exemption.

Employees, supervisors, and unit heads are encouraged to consult with the HR Manager early in the process regarding the details of any request and preparation of UW forms. Funding availability is a critical consideration in each case.

Professional Staff Payroll titles and descriptors

To request a position review, please follow the process below to describe what is proposed, identify the source of funding, and provide a justification for the request.

Process and Form Completion

Note – this section does not apply to represented Research Scientist/Engineer reviews, which will be outlined in the section beneath this.

1. Complete the Professional Staff Position Description (PSPD) (MS Word). For guidance completing the PSPD form, see the Professional Staff Position Description form guidelines (MS Word).
   1. For Research Coordinator, Research Consultant and Research Manager also complete the Professional Staff Research Activities Form (MS Word).
2. Complete the Professional Staff Position Review Employee Signature (MS Word).
3. Supervisor – complete the Professional Staff Compensation Change Request (MS Word) and forward it and the completed Professional Staff Position Description (PSPD) (MS Word) and any other related forms to the SEFS HR Manager for organizational approval.

Research Scientist/Engineer reviews

To review a professional staff position that requires academic training in a scientific or engineering discipline, where the level of responsibility has changed significantly in:

• Level of judgment required
• Level of knowledge or skill required
• Complexity and/or scope of duties and responsibilities

Or to review a classified, other represented staff, or academic position where the unit’s administration believes the position meets the research exemption criteria and should be properly assigned to one of the Research Scientist/Engineer Senior, Principal, or Sr Principal job profiles displayed below.

Professional Staff Research Scientist/Engineer Job Profiles and Generic Job Descriptions

The Research Scientist/Engineer Senior, Principal, and Sr Principal generic job descriptions reflect the attributes typically found in positions within a specific grade/job profile. You can use the generic job descriptions to help identify a compensation grade and job profile for a particular level of work.

Career Path Guidelines

The Career Path Guidelines (PDF) identify the core competencies for various job functions. You can use this tool to quickly identify an appropriate job level for a particular position based on required competencies, and you can determine competencies required to progress to a specific level. A position is generally assigned to a compensation grade that represents the majority of the position’s competencies but does not have to perform all competencies at a specific grade level to be assigned to that grade.

Process Steps

This section only applies to Professional Staff Research Scientist/Engineer reviews. It does not apply to reviews for Research Scientist/Engineers represented by UAW, Research Coordinator, Research Consultant, or Research Manager.

1. Complete the Professional Staff Research Scientist-Engineer Questionnaire (MS Word) and obtain required organizational approvals. Complete the Professional Staff Position Review Employee Signature (MS Word).
2. Supervisor – complete the Professional Staff Compensation Change Request (MS Word) and forward all forms to the SEFS HR Manager for organizational approval.

Process for other represented staff (includes Research/Scientist Engineers from Assistant to level 4, represented by UAW). The current contract between the UW and UAW Research Scientist Engineers can be found here.

Job profile list, salaries, and specs

The Employer will allocate positions on a “best fit” basis to the most appropriate classification at the University of Washington. Classifications shall be based on a position’s duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Reclassifications shall be based on a permanent and substantive change in the duties, responsibilities, or qualifications of a position and/or application of the professional exemption criteria set forth in RCW 41.06.070(2). In determining whether a reclassification is appropriate, the Employer shall evaluate these changes using process and documents that identify the positions duties, responsibilities, and qualifications, and may include the RSE Questionnaire, RSE Career Path Guidelines, and/or the Classification Specifications.

Position Review Process:

1. The Employer or employee may request that a position be reviewed when the requesting party believes that the basis of its request has become a permanent requirement of the position. A position review requires a current performance evaluation (completed within the previous twelve (12) months). Employees may not request that a position be reviewed more often than once every six (6) months.
2. The request must be complete and in writing on forms provided by the Employer.
   • Complete the Professional Staff Research Scientist-Engineer Questionnaire (MS Word). Complete the Professional Staff Position Review Employee Signature (MS Word).
   • Supervisor – complete the Professional Staff Compensation Change Request (MS Word) and forward all forms to the SEFS HR Manager for organizational approval.
3. The UWHR Compensation Office will investigate the position and issue a written response within sixty (60) calendar days from receipt, by Human Resources, of the completed request. The response will include notification of the class and salary assigned when the position is reclassified, or notification of the reasons the position does not warrant reclassification when the request is not approved.
4. The effective date of classifications or reclassifications initiated by the Employer shall be determined by the Employer. The effective date of a reclassification resulting from an employee request for position review will be established as the 1^st or the 16th of the month which precedes the date that the completed request was filed with UWHR Compensation Office or the employee’s direct supervisor or department, whichever date is earliest. The date of receipt must be appropriately documented.