ISSUE # 3.0
Topics in this issue
Recognizing Employees
with Non-Cash Awards
RSSP Transfer Policy
RSSP Classification Review
Process
Consolidated Billing and Your Budget
Management Guide Updates
Some
Examples of Promoting Diversity in the Workplace
Recognizing Employees with Non-Cash Awards
Residential and Student Service Programs has implemented a one-year
pilot program for presenting employees with non-cash awards in order
to acknowledge work-related events such as recognition, length of
service, retirement, and sympathy. This pilot will be in effect from
May 1, 2002 through April 30, 2003. In this Communiqué you will
find
the RSSP guidelines for implementing and using this program. The
guidelines are based on University Business and Finance Bulletin G-41
Employee Non-Cash Awards. Please file this Communique under Appendix
G of your Guide to Managing Human
Resources.
Managers and supervisors are responsible for deciding who should be
presented with non-cash awards but you are expected to consult with
your assistant/associate director before purchasing non-cash awards.
Awards are charged to your unit's budget. A special fund has been
set up for Early Childhood Education Program, Cal Rentals, and New
Student Services. Please contact Ken Montgomery of the Assistant
Vice Chancellor's office if you fall into that category.
If you need more information about the program, consult with your
assistant director. You can find more information about Recognition
and Reward Programs in your Guide to Managing Human Resources,
Appendix G, or go to http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/guide/appendg.htm.
Once you have purchased the non-cash award, you should complete a
"RSSP Non-Cash Award Notice" and forward it to your
assistant/associate director for review. The assistant/associate
director will forward the notice to Dee Palacios in Human Resources.
Dee is monitoring the pilot program.
The four types of non-cash awards are described below. Each has a
slightly different criteria and value. Be sure to follow the
guidelines that apply to your situation.
1. Non-Cash Awards for Recognition
RSSP has established a $20 per person limit per occasion for non-cash
awards. The awards are charged to your unit's budget. Recognition
awards are meant to be occasional and should only be presented to an
employee on an infrequent basis. Awards should be provided within an
established recognition program and based on objective criteria. You
may want to reward some (or all) of the following:
… Time, work, or money-saving ideas
… Ongoing or one-time customer compliments for service/satisfaction
… Solution to a difficult problem
… Outstanding one-time achievements
… Outstanding attendance (particularly where public hours are important)
… General ongoing contributions that you'd just like to acknowledge
… Improvement of any kind in an employee's efforts
Some examples of non-cash awards are:
… Flowers, fruit, a book or similar item
… A ticket for a sporting or cultural event
… A plaque
… A non-negotiable gift certificate (one that can only be used
in exchange for tangible personal property, not cash
or cash for the difference between the purchase price and the value
of the gift certificate)
The following are not allowable non-cash awards.
… Cash or negotiable gift certificates
… Parking permits
… Recreation memberships
… Season tickets to sporting or cultural events
2. Events to Celebrate Length of Service
The unit can sponsor small celebrations such as cake and punch or
other refreshments to acknowledge employees who have earned a minimum
of five years of service, but no gifts or awards should be purchased
using University funds. The celebration is charged to your unit's
budget.
3. Events to Celebrate Retirement
Retirement parties must be authorized by the director and will be
paid for from the unit's budget. The Assistant Vice Chancellor's
office will pay for a plaque honoring any employee retiring after 20
or more years of service. The maximum University funds to be spent on
retirement gifts including the plaque is not to exceed $400. Any
University funds to be spent on retirement gifts should be
coordinated with Ken Montgomery in the Assistant Vice Chancellor's
office.
4. Sympathy Gifts
Gifts such as flowers may be presented as an expression of sympathy
in the event of the death or major illness of an employee or a member
of the employee's family or household. The maximum amount paid for a
sympathy gift should be $75 per person per event. The gift is charged
to your unit's budget.
April 30, 2002
New RSSP Internal Transfer Policy
A new internal transfer policy for Residential and Student Service Programs
(RSSP) has been developed to clarify the selection criteria and ensure
consistency. This policy is effective January 2, 2002. Internal transfers
are posted in RSSP for a minimum of 5 working days and include the qualifications,
selection criteria, deadline, and instructions on how to apply.
Vacant career positions in the following titles are posted for internal
transfer:
- Positions in the Service Unit represented by AFSCME
- Positions in the Clerical Unit represented by CUE (except for Child
Development Center Teacher I and Child Development Center Teacher II)
- Positions in the Technical Unit covered by UPTE
- Principal Cook (PPSM)
- Positions in other PPSM titles may be posted for transfer
Under some circumstances, internal transfers are not posted. These may
include:
- Temporary openings
- Positions where there are no other RSSP career employees in the same
title
- Moving an employee to a vacant position for accommodation or because
the employee's current position is being eliminated
- Placement of an autocareer employee
Once an employee accepts the transfer to the new assignment/location,
the transfer is final. The employee will not be permitted to transfer
back to the old assignment/location. If at a future date, another transfer
opportunity opens, the employee can apply and transfer again based on
seniority and the qualifications and selection criteria listed on the
transfer opportunity flyer.
Qualifications and selection criteria include, but are not limited to:
- Seniority is defined as the original hire date of employment in any
job title at the University of California, Berkeley. If the employee had
a complete break in service and the employee had to be re-hired, the new
hire date goes into effect.
- [Must be a] career employee in RSSP, permanently in the same classification
as the transfer at least 60% [time].
- [Employee must have] completed [the] probationary period.
- [Employee must] have a satisfactory or better performance evaluation.
- [Employee must] not have a disciplinary letter in [the] personnel file
for the past year (for transfer purposes only).
- [Employee must] not have excessive attendance [problems].
- [Employee] must [be] able to perform [the] essential duties.
December 20, 2001
RSSP Classification Review Process
UGA has had a Classification Review Committee in place for several years. Effective July 1, 2001, RSSP will become part of that committee and certain classification requests will be forwarded to that committee. Brenda Greenwood will continue to preview all classification requests. As a result, we will begin following UGA guidelines and procedures when submitting all classification review request packets.
The most important changes in procedures and guidelines are indicated below. Reclassification reviews are considered classification actions and will also be subject to these new rules. Please refer to the attached blue pages for details regarding these changes.
· Effective July 1, 2001 we will no longer be assigning retroactive
effective dates for classifications.
· The UGA Supervisor's Checklist for Classification Requests (new
form): this form must be completed and attached to all classification
review packets (except for packets for recruitment for positions where
there is no change in duties)
· Deadlines for Classification/Reclassification Review Requests
Packets:
- Classification review request packets must be submitted to Brenda Greenwood
at least six working days before the end of the calendar month (except
for job packets that have to be reviewed for recruitment; Section V of
the attached RSSP Classification Review Process).
- Recruitment cannot begin until the review of the request packet is complete.
This is an internal RSSP process, and these packets can be turned in any
time during the month. However, positions will not be listed unless the
packet is complete and the internal review has been completed
Attachments
1. RSSP Classification Review Process
2. UGA Supervisor's Checklist for Classification Requests: this will be
emailed to you, and can also be download from The Insider at the following
address: http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/prot/insider/human_res/forms.html
3. Job Description Verb list: helps to define and identify more precisely
the functions of a position
4. Defining Essential and Marginal Duties/Responsibilities Under ADA
Please file the attached blue pages under the Classification section of your Management Guide. There will be a Human Resources training session in Fall 2001 on the procedure for writing a complete job description. If you have any questions, please contact Shannon Lee at 2-2310 or Brenda Greenwood at 2-0582.
June 27, 2001
Consolidated Billing and Your Budget
You may have read that the Office of the President (OP) has recently implemented a new process for campuses to report and pay medical, dental, vision and legal insurance premiums for their employees. This new process, known as Consolidated Billing, was implemented following an audit that revealed that OP had paid excess premium payments to some insurance carriers. This was due to a lack of synchronization between the Campus's active employee database and the employee roster used to pay insurance premiums. With the implementation of Consolidated Billing, the database issues have been resolved. Each campus is now responsible for reconciling its active employee database against benefit eligibility rosters, as well as for funding any benefit overpayments that may result from processing or timing errors.
Why do you need to know about this?
Beginning January 1, 2001, the campus will be charging benefit overpayments
incurred after the established processing grace period directly to your
budget. Consolidated billing could have a significant impact on your
budget. Most often, the excess premiums referred to above were paid for
employees who had not been formally separated or placed on leave. In order
to avoid costly benefits charges, you must submit timely and complete
Separation Forms for all employees who are no longer working for you and
Change of Status Forms for employees who are on any type of leave other
than a Workers' Compensation leave.
If you have questions concerning Consolidated Billing, please contact Payroll Manager Cynthia Davis at crdavis@uclink4.berkeley.edu or 3-8662.
December 12, 2000
The purpose of this Communiqué is to:
- Distribute updated materials for your campus Management Guide.
- Distribute updated RSSP procedures (blue material):
- Employment Procedures
- Job Description Requirements
- Discipline: Sample letters
- Provide a RSSP procedures Table of Contents for your Management Guide (blue material).
- Bring to your attention the new campus section of the Guide titled, "Recognition and Reward Programs&qupt; which also includes theEmployee Non-Cash Awards policy.
- Ask you to review the attached Message from the Recognition Committee which recommends that you create a new Staff Morale section for your Management Guide, and updates you on the activities of the committee.
Procedures
- The campus no longer provides Management Guide binders. If you do not have a Management Guide, you will need to purchase a 2 inch binder and enough index dividers for 25 sections. The attached Management Guide packet provides labels for the index dividers. If you have a Management Guide, you will need two additional index dividers for the new Compensation section and the Staff Morale section.
- Replace the white sections of Management Guide with attached material in sealed packet.
- Insert the attached blue Table of Contents at the beginning of your Management Guide. Compare the Table of Contents to existing blue pages. Contact Shannon Lee at 2-2310 to request missing pages. Review the updated RSSP procedures before inserting them into your Management Guide.
- Payroll and Benefits procedures are covered in a separate handbook. If you need a copy of the Payroll and Benefits Handbook, contact Cynthia Davis at 3-8662. The Workers' Compensation Handbook for Supervisors can be found at: www.uhs.berkeley.edu:80/FacStaff/WorkersComp/HANDBOOK/covpage.html
April 3, 2000
Some Examples of Promoting Diversity in the Workplace
Diversity in the workplace makes for a stronger institution. Managers and supervisors who cultivate and incorporate the many aspects of diversity in the workplace strive to create a sense of belonging and inclusiveness, of working to achieve common goals. They and their staff take pride in the workplace and in the work that is being accomplished.
Diversity can include (but is not limited to) race, religion, ethnicity, color, sex, national origin, disability, status as a special disabled or Vietnam era veteran, age, cultural identity, sexual orientation, family status, language, economic background. The following list identifies some of the ways a manager or supervisor might support diversity in the workplace.
1. Fosters an environment that encourages open communication and the sharing of ideas and innovative contributions from a variety of perspectives.• Recognizes differences in the way people communicate or share ideas.
• Encourages cultural exchange of ideas by having cultural awareness educational events to support the feeling of inclusion. For example, diversity awareness days, or a monthly potluck with a cultural theme.
• Encourages open dialog between employees on issues that may affect the individual's home/work life balance (the need to take days or part days off, discussion of domestic partner benefits, elder care benefits, etc).
• Shares information about diverse cultural norms in communication styles.
• Encourages positive cross cultural communication.
2. Strives to ensure that all recruitment, hiring, training and promotions are conducted in a manner that promotes equal employment opportunity.
• Actively engages in using and developing recruitment strategies to achieve diversity goals. Examples include the job vacancy listing and outreach to underrepresented communities.
• Shares goals with everyone in office, explains why they are the goals and what the goals mean (creating an inclusive applicant pool).
• Examines systems, structures, and expectations to ensure that the work environment facilitates and supports diversity.
• Supports employees working in non-traditional gender roles.
• Mentors a young person without experience or encourages an older employee to take employee development training courses to learn new skills.
3. Creates an inclusive work environment that maximizes the potential for all employees.
• Encourages staff to participate in campus groups such as Alianza Staff Association, Asian/Pacific Systemwide Alliance, Black Staff and Faculty Organization, Executive Women on Campus, Lesbian Gay Staff Empowerment and Enlightenment, Native American Staff and Faculty Association, Staff Diversity Program, Project DARE, UC Retirees Association of Berkeley, etc.
• Encourages participation in diversity education and training to facilitate working with a culturally diverse client population,v or co-workers.
• Applies diversity training to the workplace.
• Promotes diversity at all levels of the organization.