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UC Merced Hiring Bonus Program

PURPOSE

Hiring bonuses enable a location to make a market-competitive employment offer and assist in securing a candidate’s acceptance of the offer. The offering of a hiring bonus is at the sole discretion of the University.   Hiring bonuses, if approved, are funded by the hiring department.  

 

CANDIDATE ELIGIBILITY 

  1. Candidate cannot be a current UC employee 
  2. Candidate cannot have been employed by the University during the 12 months prior to the proposed rehire date 
  3. Candidate position classification cannot be Senior Management Group (SMG) 
  4. Proposed candidate total cash compensation offer must be below the Indexed Compensation Level (ICL) of $340,000 (as of 9/1/2021) 

 

 USAGE CRITERIA AND REQUIREMENTS

  1. Total hiring bonus amount cannot exceed a maximum of 10% of the starting annual base salary.
  2. If both a hiring bonus and relocation payment are offered, the combined total cannot exceed 20% of the starting annual base salary. 
  3. A hiring bonus cannot be used in place of a relocation payment, which is intended to offset a portion of the candidate’s costs associated with accepting the University’s employment offer and relocating. 
  4. The candidate’s offer letter should detail the hiring bonus payment, and repayment provisions should the recipient separate from university employment before completing the agreed upon years of service, which the candidate then agrees to by signing the offer letter. 

 

REQUEST AND APPROVAL PROCEDURE 

A. Campus Approval Routing Process: the hiring manager and/or recruiter may recommend the use of a hiring bonus in unique circumstances for hard-to-recruit positions where it is likely to help gain acceptance of the offer.

  1. Recruiter confirms candidate’s eligibility for hiring bonus.
  2. The hiring manager secures approval for a hiring bonus from their position delegate.  
  3. The recruiter completes and submits the electronic Hiring Bonus Request Form after written approval and valid chart of account information is received from position delegate. 
  4. Hiring Bonus automatically routes to respective division head (or provost) for review and decision.   
    • Position delegate receives system generated notification that a request has been submitted.  Notification includes dollar amount and chart of account information. 
  5. Hiring Bonus automatically routes to Chancellor’s designee, i.e., Chancellor’s Chief of Staff, for review and decision.
  6. System generates email notification of decision to the recruiter, hiring manager, and division head. 
  7. Approved request will be submitted to UCOP by the recruiter for review and decision.  

B. Office of the President Routing and Approval Process:

  1. Recruiter is responsible for completing and submitting the online UC Hiring Bonus Request Form to initiate Office of the President’s approval process.  
  2. Form is automatically forwarded to UCM’s Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) to review the request, and to ensure policy and local requirements are met. CHRO completes first level review and records decision.
  3. Notification of final decision is emailed to the recruiter and UCM’s Chief Human Resources Officer within one business day of form submission to the Executive Director, Systemwide Talent Management.
  4. Recruiter updates UCOP decision in UC Merced’s local electronic Hiring Bonus process and triggers notification to hiring manager, division head, and position delegate.

C. Payroll Processing:

  1. Recruiter submits one-time payment form to payroll for final payment processing.
  2. Payroll processes request with UCPath for payment.