CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION PLAN
CITY OF
Amended effective:
7/06/74
7/01/81
6/30/86
7/01/87
8/30/87
7/01/89
7/01/97
7/01/05
7/01/07
INDEX
Subject and Chapter
Absence on
Holidays, 5.21
Advances within
Amendments,
1.4
Administration
of Plans, 1.3
Applicability,
1.2
Applicability to
New Employees, 5.2
Applicability to
Present Employees, 5.3
Authority,
1.1
Benefit
Package,
Call Back Pay,
5.26
Classification
Compensation
Plan, Ch.5
Decreases in
Pay, 5.12
Determining
Rates of Pay, 5.1
Demotions,
5.5
Employee
Requests for Adjustments, 5.15
Employee
Employment,
Equal
Opportunity Employer, 3.2
Evaluating
Employees, 5.12
Exempt
Employees, 4.5
Foreword,
5.1
Health Insurance
Cost Share, 4.4
Interpretations
of Compensation Plan, 5.14
Longevity
Bonuses, 5.16
Mileage Pay,
5.27
Non-exempt
Employees, 4.6
Orientation of
New Employees, 3.4
Overtime Pay,
5.18, 5.19, 5.23
Partial
Compensation from Other Sources, 5.25
Paycheck
Questions, 4.9
Payroll
Deductions, 4.6, 4.8, 4.9
Periodic Review
of Compensation Plan, 5.13
Physical
Examinations, 3.3
Probationary
Status, 4.1
Promotions,
5.4
Reallocation
Downward, 5.6
Regular Full
Time, 4.2
Regular Part
Time, 4.3
Salaried
Personnel, 5.28
Special Merit
Pay Increases, 5.12
Starting Rate,
5.8, 5.9, 5.10
Work Schedules,
5.17
* *
* *
CITY
OF
CLASSIFICATION AND COMPENSATION PLAN
CHAPTER 1
1.1 Authority
These two plans have been
established in compliance with Article VI, Section 6:02 of the "Revised
Charter of the City of
1.2 Applicability
The Classification Plan and
Compensation Plan, including future amendments, shall apply to all persons
employed by the City of
1.3 Responsibility for
Administration of Both Plans
The Personnel Specialist
shall be responsible for the maintenance of the Classification and Compensation
Plans, including new or changed positions, the determination and recommendation
of proper compensation rates, recommending changes to fringe benefits and
policies contained herein, all based upon a consideration of prevailing
policies and rates of pay provided comparable occupations outside the City
Service.
1.4 Amendments
The City
All recommendations shall be
made to the City
1.5 Effective Date
The plans shall become
effective July 1, 1973, after submission by the City Manager to the
CHAPTER 2
Classification Plan
2.1 Explanation of the
Nature of the Plan.
(a) The Classification Plan is
the basic foundation to assist in the elimination of misunderstandings,
discrimination, and inequity regarding pay, fringe benefits and varied
personnel matters.
(b) A position Classification
Plan is a complete survey of each position and a careful evaluation of the
value of each position. It involves
defining the different kinds of positions in the City's services and analyzing
the essential functions of each position on an objective and impersonal
basis. A Job Description is written for
each position of identical or very similar work. The Job Description is a reasonably detailed
portrayal of the nature of the position, its duties and responsibilities, its
scope and complexity, the degrees of knowledge, skills and abilities required,
the amount of supervision over other employees, the conditions of work (such as
exposure to disagreeable elements, physical effort, risk of injury) and
indicates the minimum desired qualifications for successful performance of the
job.
(c) Job Descriptions provide an
impartial approach toward ascertaining the relative value of positions to each
other and to the City. They help to avoid a personalized departmental treatment
of work and pay problems; serve as a safeguard against favoritism and
prejudices; and provide a rational and equitable basis for establishing and
adjusting pay scales.
(d) The contents of Job
Descriptions are indicative and not restrictive. It may not be necessary that an employee
perform all the tasks listed, nor is the list complete in that it covers all
the duties an incumbent may be required to perform. Department heads and supervisors may direct
minor and reasonable deviations.
(e) With respect to Minimum
Desired Qualifications, the incumbent may be more or less qualified in some
aspects than stated in the Job Description.
The purpose of the section is to serve as a basis for future recruiting,
competitive and promotional examinations and interviews. Applicants who lack a desired qualification
are not necessarily excluded.
Flexibility in hiring is provided by the phrase "or any equivalent
combination of experience and training which provides the required knowledge,
skills, and abilities". Thus,
applicants with less formal education than desired are not excluded from
consideration; nor are others with less experience than desired.
2.2 Uses of the
Classification Plan
(a) The plan is the foundation
upon which all major phases of a personnel plan are constructed. It disregards personalities, race, sexual
orientation, sex, ethnic origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, political
affiliation and other unsupportable differentials. The plan, by means of its analysis of the
division of work and responsibility can and should be used to advantage as
follows:
1.
Provide the basis for an
equitable pay plan and standardized policies regarding entitlement to fringe
benefits.
2.
Enable employees,
particularly new employees, to get a better concept of their work assignments
and a better concept of the activities of their department, other departments,
and the city service as a whole.
3.
4.
Aid the City Manager and
department heads in perfecting or revising their organizational structure,
clarifying lines of authority and fixing responsibility.
5.
Aid in judging the needs of
additional positions or consolidating positions and using employees to maximum
advantage.
6.
Facilitate budgeting.
7.
Provide a means whereby
employees may find incentive to improve their status by more intensive and
effective application of their work and by undertaking training for promotion
to higher skilled positions.
8.
Facilitate a review and
control of operations.
9.
Form the basis for objective
recruiting for, and promotion to a vacant position.
CHAPTER 3
Employment
3.1 The responsibility for
recruitment, including advertising, internal posting, screening, reference checking and testing candidates for a vacancy
shall rest with the Personnel Specialist.
When a vacancy exists, the department head shall notify the Personnel
Specialist who will collect and log all applications and resumes received.
Applications and resumes will be reviewed and scored by the department head and
Personnel Specialist according to criteria pertinent to the job. Applicants with the highest scores will be
interviewed. The Personnel Specialist may issue a test if requested by the
department head. The department head and Personnel Specialist will determine
the structure of the interview.
Department heads and the Personnel Specialist shall assure that current
City employees are evaluated for promotional consideration in accordance with
the City's promotion-from-within policy.
3.2 The City of
3.3 Evidence of satisfactory
health, if required for the position
involved, shall be a condition of employment.
When appropriate the Personnel Specialist will arrange for physical
examination at City expense.
3.4 The Personnel Specialist
shall orient all newly hired employees, except seasonal & temporary, as to
the principal contents of the Classification and Compensation Plans and the
Personnel Rules and Regulations, all City
policies, and State and Federal regulations applicable
to the new employee. Departments will
orient seasonal & temporary employees. Department heads will fully orient their new
employees regarding all aspects of the employee's work, hours, conduct,
departmental positions and other matters not covered by the Personnel
Specialist.
CHAPTER 4
Employee Status
4.1 Probationary
Employees
(a) Persons not covered by a
collective bargaining agreement, who are hired or
promoted, to fill regular full-time or regular
part-time job vacancies shall be considered probationary and shall be required
to successfully complete a probationary period of six months. At any time during the probationary period,
the employee may be terminated if the department head finds that the employee
is unable or unwilling to satisfactorily perform the duties of the position or
if the habits and dependability of the employee do not merit continuance in the
employment of the City. In case of promotion, the employee shall be reverted to
his/her previous lower position with
the rate of pay to which he/she
would have been entitled had he/she
continued to serve in such lower position without promotion.
(b) During the probationary
period, employees shall be entitled to receive all the types of fringe benefits
to which regular employees are entitled (subject to health insurance contract
limitations).
(c) Upon satisfactory completion
of the probationary period, the employee will become a regular employee of the
City.
4.2 Regular Full-Time Employees
Regular full-time employees
are those who have satisfactorily completed their probationary period and whose
basic work week is 35 hours or more throughout the entire year. These employees are eligible for all benefits
offered by the City.
4.3 Regular Part-Time Employees
Regular part-time employees
are those employees who have satisfactorily completed their probationary period
and whose basic or normal work week is at least 20 hours and less than 35 hours
throughout the entire year. (Employees whose normal work week is less than 20
hours shall be paid at an hourly rate and without any benefits offered by the
City).
Benefit Package
Years
Hours per week
0-19 20-29 30-35 10-19 20 & over
Sick leave -0- 3
1/2 hrs./mo.
l day/mo.
Vacation
leave -0- 3 3/4 hrs./mo. .834 days/mo. 1.25 1.67
Health
Ins. -0- -0- full
benefit
Death
in Family, etc. -0- rated
benefit full
benefit
Retirement -0- -0- 35 hrs. only
Longevity -0- -0- 35 hrs. only
4.4 Employee Contribution to
Health Insurance
Effective 71/99 – Employees
will contribute to the cost of their health insurance. The cost share amount,
to be deducted from the employee’s paycheck, will be equal to the amount that
is negotiated with City unions – AFSCME, Fire, SEA and Police.
4.5 Temporary or Seasonal Employees
Persons employed
by the City for special projects, to temporarily fill vacancies, or similar
situations on an irregular basis, including employment during the summer months
only or the winter months only, are considered temporary or seasonal
employees. These persons will be paid at
an hourly rate and shall not be eligible for any benefits except as provided by
Federal or State statutes such as Worker's Compensation. They shall receive the minimum rate of pay
for their assigned grade unless written approval is obtained from the Personnel
Specialist.
4.6 Exempt Employees
Executive,
professional and administrative employees whose duties generally conform to the
definitions specified in the Fair Labor Standards Act are considered exempt
employees who shall be exempt from the overtime pay provisions set forth in
this plan. The City complies with all
federal and state laws with regard to deductions from paychecks, including
deductions from the salaries of exempt employees. The City prohibits deductions
from salaries that are inconsistent with the status of an exempt employee.
4.7 Non-Exempt Employees
Certain positions
are classified by the City as non-exempt in accordance with the terms of the
Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees so
classified shall be entitled to the overtime pay provisions set forth in this
plan.
4.8 Payroll
Deductions
The City is
required by law to make certain deductions from each employee’s paycheck,
including federal income taxes, social security, and the NHRS. The City may
make additional deductions for insurance and other purposes to benefit the
employee.
The City will withhold only for items allowed by
§
For payroll taxes, or as otherwise required by statute;
§
When the deduction is authorized in writing by the employee for:
*Installment
payments of legitimate loans made by the employer to the employee;
*Voluntary
payments for the recovery of tuition for non-required costs paid by the
employer for the employee to an educational institution;
*Voluntary payments for the recovery of accidental overpayment of
wages;
*Union dues;
*Health, welfare pension and apprenticeship fund contributions;
*Strictly voluntary contribution to charities;
*Contributions to a political action committee;
*Housing and utilities;
*Payments into savings funds held by someone other than the employer;
*Voluntary rental fees for non-required clothing;
*Voluntary cleaning of uniforms and non-required clothing;
*For the employee’s use of a demonstration vehicle;
*Voluntary
contribution into cafeteria plans or flexible benefits plans, or both, as
authorized by section 125 or section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code; and/or
*Voluntary payments by the employee for the following:
(a) child care fees by a licensed child-care
provider;
(b) parking fees; and/or
For medical,
surgical, hospital and other group insurance benefits having no financial
advantage for the employer, when the employee has given his/her written
authorization and deductions are duly recorded;
For required
clothing not covered by the NH Department of Labor’s definition of “uniforms;”
and
From final wages
at the termination of employment, for any amount the employee may owe for
voluntary payments for vacation pay, paid time-off pay, earned time pay,
personal time pay, annual pay, sick pay, sick dependent pay, and bereavement
pay made pursuant to a written employment policy as required by RSA 275:49,
III, when the payments have been requested and paid to the employee in advance
of eligibility and when the employee has given his/her written authorization.
4.9 Questions Regarding
Paychecks and Deductions
Any questions or concerns
about paychecks or deductions from pay should be directed to the Payroll
Supervisor or the Personnel Specialist. Questions and concerns will be
investigated and addressed promptly. If there has been an error, a corrected
check will be issued.
CHAPTER 5
5.1 Compensation
Plan
(a) Foreword
1.
In general, a municipal pay
plan has essentially three groups which it must seek to satisfy. For taxpayers, the pay plan should serve to
attract employees who can provide the required scope and level of service at
reasonable cost when compared to similar service in other municipalities while
not causing the City to compete unfairly with local tax-paying employers. For employees, the plan should strive to
optimize fairness to all by providing similar pay for similar work and by
fairly relating the pay of different positions to a position. For management, the pay plan should assist in
recruiting and retaining employees who are acceptable to management and the
plan should be a logical and useable tool for management in resolving problems
of employee pay and related benefits.
2.
Inequitable compensation may
lead to discontent, or result in less than desired effectiveness by current
employees, or force the City to hire personnel with qualifications less than
those desired or result in frequent turnover of personnel.
3.
Wage rates too high impose a
hardship on taxpayers and provoke other employers in the area. Wage rates too low encourage City employees
to obtain work elsewhere. Personnel
changes require the expenses of recruiting, training and unnecessary
administrative costs.
4.
A compensation plan which is
equitable and fairly and uniformly administered serves the interest of the
public, the City and the city employees.
Its development and administration are dependent on position
classification.
(b) Determining a Fair and Jus