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Acting Pay Guidelines

Purpose

Acting pay may be awarded to a non-bargaining unit staff member who has temporarily assumed significant responsibilities of a higher level job. These responsibilities are usually performed in addition to a staff member’s primary duties.

Guidelines

  • A department must consult with human resources when considering using acting pay.
  • Acting pay may be awarded for assuming significant responsibilities for a higher level job for a period longer than one month from the date a staff member is placed on acting status. Otherwise, monetary recognition of the additional effort should be made at the time of the staff member’s annual performance and salary review or through a one-time discretionary bonus / pay supplement.
  • Acting pay must have a specified begin and end date, and ceases at the end of the temporary assignment.
  • The department and human resources will work together to determine the appropriate acting pay to award and how it will be paid based on the following factors:
    • Nature, scope, significance and impact of responsibilities to be performed
    • Length of acting assignment
    • Job classification (role, level and salary range) of the higher level job
    • Impact on the staff member’s primary responsibilities in the current job
    • Impact on the number of hours required to complete all work assignments (does it require work beyond the standard work schedule, e.g., 37.5- or 40-hour schedule?)
    • Eligibility to receive overtime payment (e.g., is the job non-exempt?)
  • Acting pay related to work performed in a higher salary range will typically be based on the midpoint of the higher salary range. Internal equity with employees in the higher range job title will need to be considered.
  • Acting pay will generally be awarded as a bonus/supplemental pay. The department must submit a bonus/supplemental pay ISR on a pay period basis or it can be submitted as a recurring bonus/supplemental pay for a specified time period.
  • For situations where an employee is in an ‘acting’ capacity which will last one year or longer, consult with the divisional human resources office.
  • For non-exempt staff, acting pay must be included in the calculation of overtime pay for the respective time period, (i.e., the base hourly rate must include the regular hourly rate plus the hourly rate for the acting pay). The overtime hourly rate is one and one-half times the adjusted base hourly rate.
  • While a working job title may be used, the staff member’s classified job title and position assignment in SAP will remain unchanged.