Extending the Offer of Employment

Prior to making any commitment to a person for an open position, the ECC Specialist:

• Reviews a completed Referral Closing Report from the hiring department.
• Advises the hiring department's employment representative of any apparent policy or legal question raised by the review of the department's written selection and non-selection reasons.
• Reviews Criminal Conviction Check results and consults with the hiring department, as needed.
• Determines the appropriate salary in terms of salary administration policy and law. (Note: This action has been de-centralized to certain University departments.)

New employees normally are employed at the minimum rate of the salary range for the classification. Higher salaries may be requested by the hiring department when:

• normal recruitment efforts have not produced qualified applicants,
• the applicant possesses exceptional job-related qualifications above the minimum State hiring specifications, or
• there is an equal pay justification or operational need.

Once the hiring department agrees to the salary amount, the ECC Specialist (or authorized hiring department) extends the official job offer to the candidate. If the candidate accepts the offer, the HR Generalist completes the salary commitment and job offer for the position through HRIS.

NOTE: Salaries for current SPA employees who have been selected for transfer are covered by the salary administration policies on demotion/reassignment, promotion, or lateral transfers.

Commitments are subject to review and final approval by the Office of State Personnel. For additional information on this process, contact the ECC Specialist assigned to the hiring department.

All new SPA permanent employees must attend a Job Offer Acceptance Session on or prior to their first day of work. This includes any SPA employee new to the University, any temporary SPA employee changing status to a permanent SPA employee, or any EPA employee changing status to SPA. The Session is not required for current permanent SPA employees transferring to a new SPA position.

If the hiring department extends the job offer to the candidate and it is accepted, the department then contacts its ECC Specialist to confirm the acceptance of the position and schedule the candidate for the Job Offer Acceptance Session.

If the HR Generalist extends the job offer to the candidate and it is accepted, the ECC Specialist will then schedule the Job Offer Acceptance Session and notify the hiring department.

During the Job Offer Acceptance Session, the new employee officially accepts the offered position, completes the "Employee Information and Verification" (I-9) form, Creditable Service form, payroll forms, and receives the Conditions of Employment with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. S/he will also receive information regarding New Employee Orientation.

The University is permitted to hire only properly identified U.S. citizens and legally authorized aliens. The Compensation & Staffing Programs Department verifies eligibility for permanent SPA appointments. The verification process is documented on a Federal immigration form, Form I-9, "Employment Eligibility Verification" and verified during the Job Offer Acceptance Session.

For transfers within the State system, I-9 forms and supporting documents from previous State appointments may be accepted by the Compensation & Staffing Programs Department. The verification process also applies to reinstatements. For a reinstatement occurring within three years of the initial employment, the original I-9 is to be updated by reverification or a new I-9 may be completed.

For any employee with an employment expiration date, reverification must be done before the expiration date. If the employee cannot produce work authorization, he/she must be terminated.

Employees new to the University may begin on any work day. Overlap with a separating employee is possible, but must be approved by the Budget Office. When current permanent University employee accepts a transfer offer to another department, the two departments involved are responsible for arriving at the starting date for the transfer. If the two departments do not agree on an effective date, they refer the issue to their respective organizational superiors.