The Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina, through UNC Policy 300.2.13, requires each campus to have a policy on supplemental pay for employees who are exempt from the State Human Resources Act (“EHRA employees”). This Policy establishes specific procedures for supplemental pay, in the form of either overload or a salary supplement, for EHRA employees at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (“UNC-Chapel Hill”). Salary supplements and overload are intended to address temporary increases in responsibility or significant and substantial duties performed under unusual circumstances outside of normal work hours. This compensation may be used only to address duties that are clearly exceptional to the employee’s regular position, or in the case of teaching duties, exceed what is classified as assigned teaching load by the relevant School/College academic authority. Supplemental pay is not used to compensate added duties on an hour-for-hour basis or duties which may be reasonably construed as incidental to an employee’s regular assignment, except in unusual circumstances approved by the applicable central office.
I. Definitions
Salary Supplement: A salary supplement, or stipend, is in addition to base pay, granted in a recurring monthly amount for the timeframe of the work performed, and is generally associated with added duties through a specific secondary administrative job or appointment, with the exception of Distinguished Professorships.
Faculty Salary Increase Request Form
Overload: Overload is a one-time lump sum payment in a fixed amount to compensate added duties that are typically of a more limited duration (e.g., less than 30 days) but may be used for duties that extend over a longer period of time (up to six months for non-teaching activity) when compensated at a fixed dollar amount.
View and download the EHRA Overload form on the Supplemental Pay for EHRA Employees page of the HR at UNC website.
II. Applicability and Exclusions
1. Applicability
a. This Policy applies to all EHRA employees at UNC-Chapel Hill (Faculty and EHRA Non-Faculty), whether permanent or temporary, unless excluded as provided in Section II.2., below.
b. Compensation to teach classes for EHRA Non-Faculty employees shall be accomplished using overload under the provisions of this Policy and is not delivered as part of an employee’s base salary, except in special circumstances approved by the applicable central office.
2. Exclusions
a. Compensation that is part of an approved special faculty or non-faculty compensation plan (e.g., School of Medicine Clinical Faculty Compensation Plan, School of Medicine Basic Science Faculty Compensation Plan, Department of Athletics Incentive Compensation Plan for Coaching and Non-Coaching Staff etc.) shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of that plan and are exempt from the specific procedures of this Policy.
b. The Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (for faculty) and the Office of Human Resources (for non-faculty employees) may grant exceptions to the University’s general guidelines on salary supplements or overloads when deemed necessary for the conduct of essential University business. Such exceptions shall only be in extraordinary circumstances and must still comply with all of the provisions of UNC Policy 300.2.13.
III. Salary Supplements
A salary supplement must conform to the following parameters:
1. It is an added amount of monthly compensation above and beyond base salary. Compensation that does not have a monthly basis, or is for a defined scope of work that is more project- or course-based, should be accomplished using overload rather than as a salary supplement.
2. It is used to compensate for added duties that will generally have a duration of 30 days or greater. Added duties of shorter durations (e.g., several days or weeks) should generally be compensated using overload.
3. It may be awarded for work performed within an employee’s base unit or external to his/her assigned base unit. However, it is generally permitted in an employee’s base unit only when the supplement is in recognition of a distinct administrative title that is in addition to the primary duties or some form of interim/acting assignment.
4. It must have an associated secondary appointment (faculty or administrative) reflected in the enterprise human resources system unless a specific exception is approved by the applicable Dean or Vice Chancellor (or approved designee) with the concurrence of the appropriate central office.
5. On a non-routine basis, a salary supplement may be utilized to compensate an employee assuming additional and extraordinary special duties for some defined period of time as opposed to being associated with an added administrative title.
6. When approved, it must be communicated in writing to the employee by the supervising Department Head or Dean/Vice Chancellor and this communication must include the following elements:
a. specific purpose of the supplement.
b. effective start date of the supplement.
c. the monthly amount of the supplement.
d. anticipated end date of the supplement or an open end date.
e. a statement that reads “This salary supplement is provided at the University’s discretion and may be modified or ended at any time and for any reason without notice.” This statement may be modified for named professorships to reflect that the supplement continues for the duration of that appointment.
7. Administrative supplements are not removed if a faculty member goes on leave for an FMLA-qualifying reason. Administrative supplements will be removed if a faculty member goes on leave for a non-FMLA qualifying reason with some exceptions including Distinguished Term Professorships. Please contact the Office of Academic Personnel if you have any questions.
IV. Overload
An overload must conform to the following parameters:
1. It is accomplished as a one-time lump sum payment in a fixed amount that compensates a specific piece of work.
2. It is typically used to compensate added duties of a relatively short duration (e.g., less than 30 days) but may also be used for duties that extend over a longer period of time when compensated at a fixed dollar amount, such as teaching a class or providing a specific deliverable such as a special report or study.
a. The Office of the Provost has determined that non-teaching activity that lasts longer than six months should be submitted as a secondary appointment with stipend.
3. It is generally awarded for work performed external to an employee’s base unit. It may be awarded within the base unit only in extraordinary circumstances, such as a faculty member teaching a class due to the unexpected absence of a colleague or in the case of a critical University business need that cannot be reasonably met through any other means.
4. The total of a full-time employee’s overload pay in any fiscal year may not exceed 20% of his/her July 1st base salary if in a 12-month appointment or 25% of base salary in a 9-month appointment, unless an exception is granted by the applicable central office.
a. Exceptions should be non-routine and must be approved by the Academic Personnel Office (for faculty) or the Office of Human Resources for (EHRA Non-Faculty employees).
b. Blanket exceptions to a specified work unit may be granted by the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (for faculty) or the Vice Chancellor for Workforce Strategy, Equity, and Engagement (for non-faculty employees) when deemed necessary for the conduct of University business.
5. The overload limits in Item IV.4 do not apply to a part-time employee until the combination of his/her part-time base salary and overload in any fiscal year equals his/her full-time equivalent (1.0 FTE) salary on an annualized basis. Once this threshold is reached, the normal overload limits noted in IV.4 above shall apply.
6. Individuals who are in a paid or unpaid leave of absence status are not eligible for payment of overload.
V. Processing Supplemental Pay Requests
1. The Office of Human Resources and the Academic Personnel Office have jointly published the EHRA Overload form for departments to request approval for the award of overload to EHRA employees.
2. All requests must be submitted and approved by all of the required parties, including the applicable central office, in advance of any supplemental pay being communicated to the employee or any added work being performed.
3. Requests submitted after-the-fact must be approved personally by the applicable Dean or Vice Chancellor (or their approved designee) in addition to all regular approvals and may be subject to disapproval by the applicable central office depending on the specific circumstances present.
4. Requests for overload pay which involve work performed outside the employee’s base unit shall require the approval of the Department Head of the unit in which the work is to be performed.
This policy is jointly maintained by the Office of Human Resources and the Academic Personnel Office and was last revised on February 3, 2014.