Procedure overview
- 1 Purpose
- 2 Scope
- 3 Procedure Overview
- 4 Procedures
- 5 Delegated Responsibilities
- 6 References
- 7 Schedules
- 8 Procedure Information
1 Purpose
PLEASE NOTE: All human resource management policy instruments are currently under review to ensure alignment with the new Enterprise Agreement. Contact the People Portfolio for more information.
To provide an opportunity to offer salary loadings to attract and/or retain key Employees.
2 Scope
This Procedure applies to professional and academic Employee positions at the University.
3 Procedure Overview
This Procedure details the conditions which apply to salary loadings at the University.
4 Procedures
4.1 Criteria for granting loadings
Attraction and retention loadings may be offered to either attract potential Employees to vacant positions, or to retain the services of an existing Employee where:
- there are clearly demonstrable difficulties in attracting suitably qualified Employees to particular positions within the prevailing market conditions;
- there is a high turnover of Employees and higher salaries being paid elsewhere for the particular occupational group have been documented as being a significant contributing factor; or
- there is a clearly demonstrable need to retain a high performing Employee who consistently and significantly exceeds agreed objectives, targets and/or Key Performance Indicators, where the loss of such an Employee would have a significant impact on the productivity and performance of the faculty or section.
Any loadings to be granted will be determined on the basis of the level at which salaries for a designated area are being sustained in a comparable market place, bearing in mind particular qualification and specialisation requirements, availability of funds and the Employee's job performance.
4.2 Salary loading proposal and application
A proposal for an application of an attraction or retention loading is to be prepared by the Category 4 Delegate and include evidence of:
- recruitment experience in the area;
- documentation of other relevant market factors, e.g. turnover of Employees, data from relevant external markets and/or comparable Universities;
- in the case of retention, the Employee's performance and implications of the loss of the Employee; and
- the recommended level of the loading and proposed source of funds (i.e. cost centre's capacity to pay the allowance).
This proposal will be forwarded to the Category 3 Delegate who will consider all evidence submitted and decide what salary loading may be appropriate and also the term of application of the loading.
The full costs of any salary loadings will be met by the department concerned from their own budgets. Full provision will be made for salary loadings in determining the annual budget for each department in which such salary loadings are approved for payment.
4.3 Level and term of loading
Other than in exceptional circumstances, salary loadings will not exceed 20% of the current base annual salary of the position.
The term of application will be determined on the basis of an assessment of the labour market and in any event will normally be offered for no more than 12 months in the first instance.
A performance review will be conducted by the Delegate prior to the conclusion of the salary loading period.
Where the Delegate determines a need for the loading to be continued at the conclusion of the initial loading period, the level of salary loading applicable to future periods will be based on the Employee's performance, the continued operation of market forces, and the continuing availability of funds.
4.4 Effect on benefits and conditions
The salary plus loading will count as "salary" for all periods of paid leave, overtime and penalty rate calculations (where eligible). However, the loading will not count as "salary" for superannuation purposes. The effect on higher duties and other allowances will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
During the loading period, if an academic Employee is promoted, or a professional Employee receives a reclassification to a higher level, the salary loading will be renegotiated.
5 Delegated Responsibilities
| Approver | Level of Delegation |
| Category 3 Delegate or above | Approval of salary loadings, with appropriate reporting to Category 2 Delegate. |
| Category 4 Delegate or above | Recommendation for salary loadings. |
6 References
Nil.
7 Schedules
This procedure must be read in conjunction with its subordinate schedules as provided in the table below.
8 Procedure Information
| Accountable Officer | Chief People Officer |
| Responsible Officer | Chief People Officer |
| Policy Type | University Procedure |
| Policy Suite | |
| Subordinate Schedules | |
| Approved Date | 21/7/2021 |
| Effective Date | 21/7/2021 |
| Review Date | 3/4/2024 |
| Relevant Legislation | |
| Policy Exceptions | |
| Related Policies | |
| Related Procedures | |
| Related forms, publications and websites | |
| Definitions | Terms defined in the Definitions Dictionary |
| Delegate (noun) means the officer, Employee or committee of the University to whom, or to which, a delegation of authority has been made under this Policy....moreDelegate (noun) means the officer, Employee or committee of the University to whom, or to which, a delegation of authority has been made under this Policy. A person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University....moreA person employed by the University and whose conditions of employment are covered by the Enterprise Agreement and includes persons employed on a continuing, fixed term or casual basis. Employees also include senior Employees whose conditions of employment are covered by a written agreement or contract with the University. The key measures of activities the University is undertaking to achieve the aims of the strategic plan....moreThe key measures of activities the University is undertaking to achieve the aims of the strategic plan. An operational instruction that sets out the process to operationalise a Policy....moreAn operational instruction that sets out the process to operationalise a Policy. The term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland....moreThe term 'University' or 'UniSQ' means the University of Southern Queensland. | |
| Definitions that relate to this procedure only | |
| Keywords | Retention, attraction, loadings, reward, salary, market loading |
| Record No | 13/262PL |