08 NOVEMBER 00 | Details have been finalized on Chancellor Berdahl's plans to eliminate the 15 percent cap on salary increases for reclassifications, promotions and lateral transfers.

These are interim measures, which will be in effect through the end of the academic year, when the recently appointed Compensation Advisory Committee will make recommendations to the chancellor for permanent policies and guidelines concerning the campus's compensation and classification system.

Under UC policy, an employee's base salary increase may not exceed 25 percent in a fiscal year, unless an exception is granted by the chancellor. Vice chancellors will continue to approve salaries above the midpoint of the range for Professional and Support Staff (PSS) and Management and Senior Professional (MSP) positions. Salary actions taken for employees represented by bargaining units still must be made in accordance with the contract language covering the situation.

o Reclassifications and promotions - Salaries for promotion and reclassification of MSP and PSS positions are based on internal equity, external market comparisons, departmental budget considerations and employee performance.

o Lateral transfers - Previously, salary increases for lateral transfers (transfer to another position with the same salary range maximum) were approved only as exceptions. Under the chancellor's new initiatives, an employee may receive a salary increase for a lateral transfer into an openly recruited position, based on the same criteria for promotions or reclassifications. In addition, the skills an employee brings to the new position are an important consideration when determining the salary.

o Counter offers - Managers may now make a counter offer when an employee is offered a lateral transfer. To avoid bidding wars, the manager offering the position is limited to one salary offer, to which the employee's current manager may make one counter offer. The employee then decides which offer to accept. The same criteria will be used for setting salaries in reclassifications and promotions.

The lifting of the 15 percent cap is one of several work-force initiatives Berdahl announced during his talk at a Berkeley Staff Assembly event in September. The chancellor announced a multi-step $1 million plan to address the most pressing staff issues facing the university.

Human Resources has published details on new work-force plans at http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/initiatives/chancellor.htm. The HR Compensation Unit can advise managers about salary decisions, external market salary comparisons and internal equity. Employees should see their supervisors with questions about their own salary ranges. Salary ranges for positions are posted at http://hrweb.berkeley. edu/hrpay.htm.