Shift Premium Pay

The University provides additional compensation for certain permanent employees whose regular work schedules occur during evening or night hours. 

Permanent SPA employees (including full-time, part-time, time-limited and probationary) are eligible for shift-premium pay as allowed under this policy.

Temporary SPA and EPA employees are not eligible for shift premium pay.

Permanent EPA employees are not eligible for shift premium pay.

The shift premium pay rate is ten percent of the employee's hourly rate.

If an employee is required to work a shift premium schedule on a holiday, the employee shall receive both shift premium pay and receive holiday premium pay, as provided in the "Holidays & Holiday Pay" policy.

To qualify for shift premium pay, more than half of the position's regular, recurring work shift must occur between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.  A "regular, recurring shift" is considered part of the job design and a basis for recruitment and employee performance expectations.  Position eligibility for shift premium pay also shall be based on prevailing practices in the applicable labor market.

If more than half the scheduled work hours are between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., the employee receives shift premium pay for all of the hours worked on the shift, including the hours worked outside the 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. period.  If the employee works extended hours beyond the regularly scheduled for premium shift, all of those hours will also qualify for shift premium pay.

For eligible employees who work recurring split shifts, shift premium pay is allowable only for the shift in which the majority of work hours fall between 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.

Shift premium pay is not considered a part of annual salary or the hourly rate for classification or personnel records purposes. It is, however, included in "gross pay" for required statutory deductions, such as Federal and State income tax withholding, Social Security and State Retirement.

Shift premium pay contributes to the employee's "regular rate" for calculating overtime compensation.  See "Wage-Hour Definitions" in the Related Subjects section below for more information.

Shift premium pay is payable only for hours actually worked. It is not paid for hours accounted for through leave, paid time off, holidays, or other absences.  Meal periods are not covered by shift premium pay and cannot be used in determining eligibility for shift premium pay.

If an employee regularly scheduled for a premium-eligible schedule works a shift outside that schedule that does not qualify for shift premium pay, then that employee will not receive shift premium pay for those hours.

The shift premium compensation is not provided for incidental work completed during evening or night hours.  If an employee is not regularly scheduled to work a premium eligible shift but performs incidental work during premium-eligible hours, even if required by management, the employee will not receive shift premium pay for those hours, unless substituting for a shift worker, as defined below.

A permanent employee who is assigned to substitute for another employee in an established position that is regularly scheduled and budgeted for shift premium pay is entitled to shift premium pay for time worked in that position. Such substitute employees may be necessary when a position is vacant or when the incumbent is absent.

For regular recurring shifts to qualify for Shift Premium Pay, the "Shift Differential" position attribute in HRIS must be checked for the position.  Instructions for substitute workers are defined below.

For Departments Using the Time Information Management (TIM) System: 

Implementation of the Time Information System (TIM) to track work hours, special pay, and leave for University employees began its phased implementation in August 2007.  See "TIM Website" in the Related Subjects section below for information on scheduling shift premium shifts and for entering shift premium pay requests and designating substitute workers.

Employee groups not yet moved into the TIM system follow the recordkeeping structure defined below. 

For Departments Using Employee Time Records:

SPA non-exempt employees record all hours worked that are covered by shift premium pay (including for substitute workers) on the Employee Time Record in the "CSPP" (Covered by Shift Premium Pay) column for the appropriate work week. The department forwards the completed Employee Time Record to Payroll Services.

For an SPA exempt employee, the department completes an "Authorization for Shift Premium Pay - Exempt Employee" and forwards it to Payroll Services.

For questions about recording shift premium pay on a Time Record, contact your department's TIM Administrator or HR Facilitator, or visit the TIM website (listed below).

If you have questions about the application of this policy to SPA positions, contact the Classification and Compensation Specialist in the Office of Human Resources assigned to work with your department.