Salary Administration

A large measure of the Compensation team’s expertise surrounds salary administration, or the review of salaries across the organization. (Actual compensation issues such as paycheque enquiries, deductions, or changes to personal or employment information are handled by UBC Finance’s Payroll unit.)

For information on salaries for all Faculty appointments, please visit the Faculty Relations Compensation page.

Upholding UBC’s philosophy of valuing our people, Compensation staff:

• conduct regular surveys with other employers about the competitiveness of UBC’s salaries and overall compensation (the results of these surveys may initiate salary changes for job families)
• support the collective bargaining process by conducting research and preparing costings before bargaining, and administering the results of the collective bargaining process

UBC HR’s Compensation team also advises UBC departments on issue such as starting salaries and salary progression and changes.

Starting Salaries

For employee groups with negotiated salary ranges, starting salaries are mandated in the collective agreements and are outlined in published salary scales.

For non-union employee groups, there are no set policies and guidelines; however, there are common practices used at UBC.

Job postings list salaries from the minimum to the midpoint of the job’s salary range, since most people will be hired between these two pay levels.

Those hired at the minimum of the range are generally recent graduates, or someone who has all of the qualifications, but very little experience. It is expected that these new hires will take a number of years to become fully proficient in the job.

Those hired at the midpoint of the range possess all the necessary qualifications, as well as sufficient experience to “hit the ground running” in the job, that is they will become proficient in the position in very little time.

For special circumstances where departments would like to hire a candidate outside of the usual salary range, this must be done in consultation and with the approval of UBC HR Compensation staff.

Salary Progression

An employee’s salary may change for a number of reasons:

• probationary increases
• step increases
• merit pay increases (for non-union staff)
• leaves (see the Benefits website for leave information for specific employee groups)
• lay off (see the Advisory Services website for information on lay offs)

Midpoint Progression

Non-Union Technicians & Research Assistants (TRAs) and Executive Administrative Staff move to midpoint in two years.

For M&P staff, progression to midpoint of their salary range is acheived over a course of a maximum of four years.

Movement from Midpoint to Maximum

For M&P staff, performance-based merit increases are the means of movement from the midpoint to the maximum of their salary range.

Honoraria

Honoraria are payments made to a faculty or staff member for work that is above and beyond what is typically covered by their regular salary, to express gratitude, or to confer distinction on the recipient. Honoraria are one-time payments, and are not typically paid on an ongoing basis. See Honoraria for more information.