Merit and Equity Pool Distribution Plan
July 11, 2007
To: UT Knoxville Faculty and Staff
From: Chancellor Loren Crabtree
As you know, the compensation plan recently approved by the Board of Trustees is good news for our faculty and staff. Along with providing a state-funded, 3 percent across-the-board pay raise for regular employees, the plan allows us to commit additional campus resources for a 2 percent merit and equity pool.
On the Knoxville campus, our plan for the merit and equity pool distribution calls for .5 percent to be directed toward addressing the most pressing equity issues among our faculty and staff. The equity adjustments will be made among faculty and specific staff job categories. The remaining 1.5 percent merit pool will be distributed to all departments and units, and managers will determine those allocations based on the employee's annual evaluation and overall job performance.
Effective dates of the across the board salary increase are June 25, 2007, for biweekly employees; July 1, 2007, for 12-month employees; and August 1, 2007 for nine-month employees. Employees must be on payroll one day before the effective date to receive the across the board increase. The across-the-board raises for full-time, regular employees of 3 percent or $900, whichever is greater, will help address cost-of-living increases that affect all employees. We are pleased about the progress toward the specific goal of raising the overall compensation of our lowest-paid, hourly workers.
The ability to reward our top performers is critically important, and this merit pay proposal helps us to do that. Employees recommended for merit increases will receive them in August paychecks. The biweekly paid employees will have merit increases in their Aug. 28 paycheck. Monthly paid employees will have merit increases in their Aug. 31 paycheck. The merit increases will be retroactive to the same effective date as the across-the-board salary increase.
I encourage you to talk with your supervisor about any questions you have about the compensation plan. Other Knoxville-area University employees, including UT System employees, Institute of Agriculture, Institute for Public Service and Health Science Center employees will receive their own communications about merit and equity pay distribution plans. These different plans will be posted online at the UT System website.
This annual increase comes just a month after more than 200 Knoxville campus employees received 2 percent market adjustments as a result of a system-wide salary study. The adjustments affected every employee statewide who was being paid the minimum hourly wage or salary for their pay grade. The majority of employees affected were nonexempt employees in the lower pay grades. Also included in the budget is an increase in the 401K match for employees from $40 to $50 per month.
Please refer to the Benefits and Retirement Services web site for instructions and the appropriate forms.
We will continue to work on our main goals of improving pay for faculty and staff as we build upon the strength of this great university. I appreciate your commitment to UT and all that you do to serve the state of Tennessee.