SPA Department Recognition Policy

It is the policy of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to promote programs that enhance employee morale by motivating employee initiative and excellence. Departments are encouraged to develop programs that recognize extraordinary work performance and collaboration as well as outstanding service within the University and in the community.

Departmental recognition programs for SPA employees must be written, with copies provided to, or publicly accessible by, all covered employees. All departmental recognition programs must be registered on the University's Awards Registry administered through the Employee Services Department in the Office of Human Resources and available on the Human Resources website. Programs that include monetary awards or paid time off awards must be approved by the Employee Services Department prior to the implementation of the program. To register a program, complete a "Recognition and Awards Registry Data Form," available on the Human Resources website.

Employee participation in designing recognition programs is strongly encouraged. At a minimum, descriptions of recognition programs must include:

• purpose of the recognition program
• awards categories
• awards eligibility
• frequency of award
• nomination procedures
• selection procedures
• type/amount of award given (both cash and non-cash items)

Awards may be designed to recognize extraordinary achievements by an employee or group of employees and may highlight performance, customer service, initiative, innovation, teamwork, career milestones, or other important accomplishments.

Guidance for developing a recognition program is available in the "Recognition Program Handbook" (see Related Subjects at the end of this policy).

Departments are required to announce the recipient(s) of the award(s) publicly in order to promote both the program and the achievements of the recipient(s). Departments are encouraged to use department-wide meetings, newsletters, or websites, as well as the University Gazette, to further acknowledge employees honored through the program(s).

Departments must forward the name of any recipient, and a description of the award(s) given, to the Employee Services Department for inclusion in the University Awards Registry on the Office of Human Resources website immediately following the employee's receipt of the award.

State budget guidelines preclude the use of State-budgeted funds for employee awards. If permitted by the individual funding authority, awards may be made from non-State funds. Within any calendar year, an individual SPA employee shall not receive more than $2000 (gross) in cash and non-cash awards through University department recognition award programs. Employee monetary awards (both cash and non-cash awards) are considered taxable income. (See the "Policy on Taxation of Gifts, Prizes, and Awards" in the Related Subjects section at the end of this policy for more information.)

Departments seeking to establish a departmental monetary award greater than the limits set under this policy must file an appeal for exception with the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration, CB# 1000. The appeal must include a completed "Recognition and Awards Registry Data Form" and cover letter of support from the Vice Chancellor who oversees the requesting department.

Under State policy, an SPA employee may receive an award of paid time off only if the award program contributes to the statewide State Employees' Award for Excellence program. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill contributes to this program through the Chancellor's Award program (recipients of the Chancellor's Award are nominated for the State Employees' Award). Therefore, only those University recognition programs that are explicitly made a part of the Chancellor's Award may give paid time off as an award.

To participate in the Chancellor's Award program, departmental recognition program descriptions must state specifically that award recipients will be considered for nomination for the Chancellor's Award.

If an employee receives a departmental award and/or the Chancellor's Award, then subsequently receives the State Employees' Award, the combined paid time off cannot exceed 24 hours in any 12-month period.

SPA monetary awards may be submitted only using the Other Direct Pay (ODP) workflow in HRIS. If the ODP workflow cannot be accessed because the awarded employee is payrolled outside of awarding department, the awarding department must contact the employee's home department and request completion of the ODP workflow.

Employee Services will approve SPA monetary awards only for award programs that have been registered with the Awards Registry, as noted above. Awards submitted for an unregistered program will not be approved. In the ODP workflow in HRIS, departments must specifically identify the name of the applicable awards program as it is appears in the Awards Registry.

The Employee Services Department will review all SPA monetary award requests for approval prior to forwarding the request to payroll for processing. Awards processed in HRIS using the ODP Workflow will be referred to the Employee Services Department without further action required by the awarding department unless required by Employee Services. Departments should allow at least five business days for Employee Services to review the request in addition to the regular processing time through Payroll.

Paid time off awarded through these programs is in addition to the vacation leave that permanent SPA employees accrue and may be used in the same manner as vacation leave. The recipient's department must maintain a separate record of awarded paid time off. This time is not counted as part of the maximum annual vacation leave accumulation.

For both SPA exempt and non-exempt employees, Paid Leave Awards must be used within 12 months of receipt of the award, or the leave is forfeited.  If an employee leaves the department in which the Leave Award was earned, the leave award is forfeited. Departments should make every effort to grant such paid time off awarded to employees at the employee's option.

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 recording Paid Leave Awards.

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

For Departments Using Employee Time Records:

For permanent SPA non-exempt employees who complete an Employee Time Record:

• Paid Leave Award is listed on the Employee Time Record in the "Coded Hours" column with an asterisk (*). On the Explanation line, specify the time as "paid time off in connection with employee recognition program."   

For permanent SPA exempt employees

• Accrual and use of Paid Leave Awards shall be recorded and tracked by the department's HR Facilitator or TIM Administrator.

See also "Leave/PTO Payouts & Transfers."

If you have questions about this program, contact the Employee Services Department in the Office of Human Resources.