To outline procedures and establish guidelines for determining circumstances under which extra compensation is payable to staff employees for performing additional duties.

The University provides every exempt employee with a base salary. An exempt employee, by nature of his/her position, is considered to be available for work assignments without additional remuneration at times other than his/her regularly scheduled hours. However, there are circumstances when additional payment is appropriate to:

1. compensate exempt employees for performing work outside their regular duties or work unit; or
2. compensate exempt employees for performing work of a vacant position in addition to performing their regular job duties.

This policy applies primarily to exempt staff, as non-exempt staff receive compensation (either regular rate or overtime pay) for additional work performed.

1. A supervisor and/or unit human resources administrator must consult with UHRM before establishing such payment or committing to paying an employee for additional duties, and prior to communicating any such payments to the employee.
2. Salary rates for an exempt position account for the full responsibilities of the position. The position may require work to be performed beyond normal hours and/or workweek. An exempt employee may not be compensated for regular work outside his/her normal schedule. Examples of such prohibited payments include on-call pay or weekend differential, unless these payments are approved in advance by UHRM.
3. Payment for an exempt employee is payable in the month following the month in which the qualifying activity takes place. Payment under this policy is made through the Monthly Extra Service Payment Request. An ongoing Extra Service Payment should be reviewed every three months. The Extra Service Payment request should include the compensation plan and the time period for which payments will be made.
4. A non-exempt employee who performs additional duties is compensated hourly and may receive overtime pay. Payment under this policy for a non-exempt staff employee is made through the Biweekly Additional Payment Form.
5. The performance of work outside an employee's regular duties or unit should not conflict with or reduce effectiveness of the employee's performance of his/her primary job responsibilities.

Performing Additional Duties Outside the Scope of Primary Job Responsibilities

6. An exempt employee may sometimes have to perform work that is clearly outside the normal scope of his/her responsibilities. In this case, a unit head or supervisor may recommend an appropriate lump-sum payment to recognize performance of unusual duties. This payment must be based on the following criteria:
   • performance of the work necessitated clearly excessive additional time (generally regarded as the equivalent of more than one day per week) or involvement in a special project; and
   • the work was either requested or approved by the employee's supervisor.
7. Additional compensation, as described above, is intended for a Short-Term arrangement, not as an ongoing compensation strategy. For an ongoing situation, a unit should consider longer-term options, such as requesting to incorporate the additional duties into the employee's primary job responsibilities and changing the employee's base pay. Such a request should be submitted via UChicago Jobs, along with an updated job description and written explanation of the change in job duties.

Performing Additional Duties for Another Unit

8. Permission of the employee's primary unit is required before an employee may be hired by another unit to perform special projects or other duties. Some examples of these duties include:
   • programming/analysis;
   • grading of assignments and papers in conjunction with a University course;
   • proofreading/editing;
   • teaching a University class or course;
   • physical education support work; or
   • musical performances in Rockefeller Chapel.
9. A staff employee may perform additional duties for up to three days per month.
10. Additional compensation, as described above, is intended for Short-Term arrangements, not as an ongoing compensation strategy. For an ongoing situation, a unit should consider longer-term options, such as using staff within the unit who may have the requisite skills, training available staff within the unit to gain the requisite skills, or developing a new position.

Performing Work of a Vacant Position - "Acting/Interim" Rates

11. An acting/interim rate represents extra compensation for a staff member who has temporarily assumed major responsibility for, and performance of, another position. Such assumed responsibility is usually in addition to his/her primary job responsibilities. An acting/interim rate should have a specific beginning and ending date. Appropriate documentation, such as a requisition submitted via UChicago Jobs or documentation relating to the leave of absence or inability of the current incumbent to perform his/her full job duties must be sent to UHRM.
12. Managers cannot receive additional payment for performing the work of a subordinate.
13. A unit should consider how the employee's primary job responsibilities will be handled, how the components of the vacant job are distributed, and what recruitment efforts are made to fill the position.
14. An employee may be paid up to fifty percent (50%) of the pay range midpoint of the vacant position for performing the duties assigned to the vacant position. The percentage compensated should correspond to the percent of effort given to the secondary duties. If the unit head or supervisor is actively considering the substitute employee for promotion to the vacancy, the unit may pay the substitute employee for up to three months. At the end of the three months, the alternatives below should be considered and a longer-term plan of action created, including:
    1. offering the position to the substitute employee if he/she is the most qualified candidate for the position after conducting a job search;
    2. requesting to reclassify the substitute employee's job to incorporate the additional duties and change the employee's base pay;
    3. rotating the substitute out of performing the additional responsibilities; or
    4. restructuring the additional responsibilities in another way.

U202 Recruitment and Selection Process, U304 Compensable Time and Compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (Overtime), and U306 Base Pay Administration