SECTION 5.15  ADVANCED APPOINTMENT RATES

Last Update: 5/08

 

 

INDIVIDUAL ADVANCED APPOINTMENT RATE  [DAS-HRE Rule 11 IAC—53.5(1)]

 

New hires are usually paid at the minimum pay rate for the job class.  For new hires, promotions, or upward reclassifications of employees in contract-covered classes, an agency may grant an advanced appointment rate to an applicant who possesses qualifications in excess of the minimum required for the job class.  When considering whether an advanced appointment rate is appropriate, the hiring agency should discuss the proposed rate of pay with their personnel officer prior to the hire offer, keeping in mind the following guidelines:

 

·         Advanced appointment rates are based on education and/or experience that is directly related to the duties and competencies required of the position when compared to the minimum qualifications and normal progression in the pay plans.

 

·         All new hires that start at other than the entry rate of pay for the job class require an advanced appointment.

 

·         The advanced appointment rate document is not required for promotions and upward reclassifications for non-contract covered positions.

 

·         Promotions and upward reclassifications of employees in contract-covered job classes require an advanced appointment rate document if the new pay rate is in excess of the 5% promotional pay.

 

·         When considering what an appropriate rate of pay would be for an advanced appointment, departments should use the following guideline.  For new hires, 5% may be granted for every year of additional qualifying experience or education beyond the minimum qualifications. A year of education is determined by the equivalency rate provided in the minimum qualifications for the job class in question; absent a stated equivalency rate, every 30 semester hours of education equal one year of experience.  The same provisions apply to promotions and upward reclassifications in contract-covered job classes, except the base rate from which the advanced appointment is calculated is the employee’s current bi-weekly pay.  The rate of pay cannot exceed the maximum pay rate of the job class.

 

·         These guidelines also apply to non-merit covered positions that have their own job class.  Those minimum qualifications should be applied the same way as indicated above when determining an advanced appointment rate.

 

·         For other non-merit positions for which a merit-covered job class is used, those minimum qualifications are for guideline use only.  Typically, departments use the same minimum qualifications, but they are not required to do so.  Applicants are not screened for minimum qualifications by DAS-HRE for non-merit positions, but they are covered under DAS-HRE administrative rules regarding pay, benefits, leave and classification.  Though these minimum qualifications serve as guidelines, departments must still document their justification for the advanced appointment rate on the Special Pay form.

 

·         Certain individuals may possess exceptional qualifications that are directly related to the work performed by the position but less than the amount needed to justify the advanced appointment.  On the Special Pay form, justification for such advanced appointments must include an explanation of why this background is exceptional and how it relates to the required competencies of the position.

 

Departments that hire individuals at an advanced appointment rate should be mindful of the following considerations:

 

·         This incentive may only temporarily be satisfactory to the new hire, who will have a shorter pay range within which to advance.

 

·         Per administrative rule 53.5(1), all employees possessing equivalent qualifications in the same class and with the same appointing authority may be adjusted to the advanced rate.  To bring all similarly qualified employees to the same pay rate may be cost-prohibitive to the agency.

 

 

BLANKET ADVANCED APPOINTMENT RATE  [DAS-HRE Rule 11 IAC—53.5(2)]

 

When there is a scarcity of applicants for a job class, an agency may, with DAS-HRE approval, appoint applicants beyond the minimum pay rate for the class as a whole or in a specific geographic area.  The request should give the economic or employment conditions that make appointment at the minimum pay rate unlikely.  This may include the following:

 

·         Higher salaries are offered by other organizations for similar jobs.

 

·         The agency has been unable to fill positions at the entrance rate (include data on the number of positions and length of time vacant).

 

·     Information about unsuccessful recruitment efforts.

 

DOCUMENT PROCESSING

 

The “Special Pay/Appointment Action” form (CFN 552-0125) must be completed to request individual or blanket advanced appointment rates.  The agency’s personnel assistant for document processing should be provided with the following information:

 

·         For an individual advanced appointment rate, the employee’s name, current payroll number, and class title.

 

·         For a blanket advanced appointment rate, the name of the affected job class.

 

·         The advanced pay rate to be used, which must be divisible by 80.

 

·     Written justification describing the reason(s) for the request with the specific education and/or experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications.

 

The personnel assistant will complete the form and submit it to the personnel officer for review.  The personnel officer will review the form in light of the general guidelines listed above and will notify the agency if there are questions prior to processing the request.

 

The agency must maintain a copy of the justification for an advanced appointment rate in the employee’s personnel file.