Benefits & Compensation

Learn about your benefits, perks, pension and compensation eligibility, and how to enroll.


Payroll, Benefits & Pension

Benefits are part of an overall total compensation package at the University. The benefits plans are designed with the continuing health and well-being of staff, faculty and their families in mind. Benefits are categorized by employment group, and eligibility for particular items depends on an your type of appointment (e.g., full time, ongoing, etc.) and hours of work.   

Getting Started 

Everything you need to know to get started with UBC payroll and benefits: 

Benefit Coverage

Information on what is included in your benefit coverage:

Pension

The Staff Pension Plan is part of your overall compensation and plays an important role in your future. The sooner you join the Plan, the greater your retirement income will be. 

Time Away from Work 

Vacations

Vacation benefits are determined by employee group and length of service at UBC. To learn more about your vacation eligibility and how to submit a vacation request, visit the Vacations page.

Leaves  

UBC offers a variety of leaves including sick, medical, maternity/paternity, study leave and many more. To learn about the types of leaves available and eligibility, visit the Leaves of Absence page

Professional Development & Tuition Waivers

See the career and professional development section for full details on courses and programs available to you. The UBC Tuition Fee Waiver also provides eligible UBC staff with tuition assistance for approved undergraduate and graduate courses, as well as non-credit courses offered through Continuing Studies.

Perks

UBC offers a variety of perks including courses, professional development funding, athletic & recreational discounts, free access to UBC museums and much more!

Visit the UBC HR website for details on the following faculty and staff perks:

  • UBC Attractions
  • Healthy Workplace Events & Initiatives
  • Welcome Back BBQ
  • Fitness Centre Discounts for Faculty & Staff
  • Discounts at UBC Food Services
  • UBC Arts & Theatre
  • Free Subscription to University Affairs

UBC Alumni Perks

The Alumni ACard, which is free for all UBC alumni, gives you access to discounts from several partners, as well as a host of UBC services and venues. A list of the discounts offered to ACard holders is available

To get your ACard, visit UBC Alumni Affairs at The Robert H. Lee Alumni Centre, Brock Hall, Wesbrook Visitor Centre, UBC Robson Square or the UBC Okanagan Library.

Salary Increases

Learn about probationary and merit increases by employee group.

M&P

Probationary Increases

All M&P staff must serve an initial 12 month probationary period. The University-wide guideline for M&P probationary increases is 4%. An increase of up to 4% indicates an employee is fully meeting the position’s expectations. Probationary increases are based on performance. Your manager will provide a performance review prior to a probationary increase. 

Mid-Point Progression Increases

Mid-point progression increases move an employee’s salary from  the hiring salary to the mid-point of the salary scale. Once your salary is at mid-point, you will be moved to the merit (link to merit page) salary progression process. Mid-Point Progression increases cannot go above the mid-point of the salary scale.

M&P staff must be moved to mid-point by the end of their fourth year in the position but can be moved to mid-point earlier as well. Normally, employees receive a mid-point progression increase on their annual anniversary date provided there is satisfactory performance.

Merit Increases

Merit increases move an employee’s salary  from the mid-point to the maximum of the salary scale. Merit increases commence on July 1st of the year after an employee becomes eligible for merit.  

There are two criteria necessary to be eligible for merit increases:   

  1. the probationary period must be successfully completed.
  2. the salary must be at mid-point or above of the salary scale.  

Both of these criteria must be met by June 30th of the year previous to the Merit increase. 

For M&P staff, in accordance with the new language in the AAPS agreement, employees who are at or above the midpoint of their salary grade will receive their first merit pay on their anniversary date (based on the start date in their current position), provided that they are off probation and at or above the midpoint in the previous year.  

Example
If you meet the criteria for Merit on April 29, 2012, you will be eligible for an increase effective July 1, 2013. The year, July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013, is the monitoring period for performance on which the merit increase of July 1, 2013 is based. The purpose of the merit program is to reward meritorious performance, factors such as equity and employment market are not considered. Staff members who are currently at the maximum of their salary scale are not eligible for ongoing salary increases. However, these employees can still be rewarded for meritorious performance through a one-time merit payment, extra vacation time or professional development opportunities.  

Performance reviews are generally conducted annually for staff members and are required to support performance-based Merit pay decisions.  

Merit Rating Scale

  • Meets job requirements                                         0%
  • Demonstrates above average performance       up to 1%
  • Demonstrates excellent performance                 over 1% and up to 2%
  • Demonstrates extraordinary performance         over 2% and up to3% 

Honouraria

An honorarium is a payment for work that is above and beyond what is typically covered by the regular salary. One time payment request through workday must include a rationale for payment as well as any other supporting documentation.

CUPE 2950

CUPE 2950 salary progression is unique from M&P and NUT/RAT. As a CUPE 2950 employee,  there is a set salary progression as defined by the salary scale. All CUPE 2950 salary increases are pre-determined by the CUPE 2950 Collective Agreement. CUPE 2950 staff move from the beginning step to maximum step via yearly step increases the day after their anniversary date. This is automatic and does not require your department to prepare any paperwork. All new hires to CUPE 2950 that are also new to UBC are hired at Step 1. See salary scale. CUPE 2950 employees who transfer into a CUPE 2950 position of the same classification retain their step.  

Example: 
A CUPE 2950 employee who moves from Arts to Medicine where both positions are classified as Administrative Support 2 (Pay Grade 3)  retains the same Step level. If however, an employee moves from an Administrative Support 2 position in Arts to an Administrative Support 3 position in Medicine, he/ she will start at Step 1 as the positions are at different levels. There is an exception to this rule. When a CUPE 2950 employee is being promoted to a higher level position, he/ she must receive a minimum $50 increase (per month).  

Example: 
In the previous example, a CUPE 2950 employee moves from Administrative Support 2 to Administrative Support 3 which is a move from pay grade 3 to pay grade 6. This is an increase of more than $50 per month so the employee would start at Step 1. If the difference in pay grades was less than $50 per month, the employee would be moved to the next highest step to give them a $50 per month increase.  

As these are unionized positions, CUPE 2950 employees are only entitled to increases that are covered by the Articles in their Collective Agreement. No other forms of increases, such as merit or honourarium are permitted.

Non-Union Technicians and Research Assistants

Probationary Increases

All NUT/TRA (Non-Union Technicians and Research Assistants) hired after September 1, 2008 must serve an initial 12 month probationary period.  The University-wide guideline for NUT/RAT probationary increases is 4%. An increase of up to 4% indicates an employee is fully meeting the expectations of their position. Probationary increases are based on performance. Your manager will provide a performance review prior to  a probationary increase. 

Mid-Point Progression Increases

Mid-Point Progression increases move an employee’s salary  from hiring salary to the mid-point of the salary scale. Once your salary is at mid-point, you will be moved to the merit (link to merit page) pay program. NUT/TRA staff must be moved to mid-point by the end of their second year in the position but can be moved to mid-point earlier as well. 

Merit Increases

Merit increases move an employee’s salary from the mid-point to the maximum of their salary scale. Merit increases commence on July 1st of the year after an employee becomes eligible for merit. There are two criteria necessary for an employee to be eligible for Merit increases:  

  1. The probationary period is successfully completed.
  2. Be at mid-point or above of their salary scale.  

Both of these criteria must be met by June 30th of the year previous to the Merit increase.  

Example:
An employee who meets the criteria for Merit on April 29, 2012 will be eligible for an increase effective July 1, 2013. The year, July 1, 2012-June 30, 2013, is the monitoring period for performance on which the merit increase of July 1, 2013 will be based. The purpose of the merit program is to reward meritorious performance, factors such as equity and employment market are not considered. Staff members who are currently at the maximum of their salary scale are not eligible for ongoing salary increases. However, these employees can still be rewarded for meritorious performance through a one-time merit payment, extra vacation time or professional development opportunities. Performance reviews are generally conducted annually for staff members and are required to support performance based Merit pay decisions. 

Merit Rating Scale

  • Meets job requirements                                             0%
  • Demonstrates above average performance           up to 1%
  • Demonstrates excellent performance                     over 1% and up to 2%
  • Demonstrates extraordinary performance             over 2% and up to 3% 

Honouraria

An honorarium is a payment for work that is above and beyond what is typically covered by the regular salary. One time payment request through workday must include a rationale for payment as well as any other supporting documentation.

Salary Scales

Learn about salary scales by employee group.

Salary Scales exist for all staff employee groups on campus.

Some employee groups like CUPE 2950 have specific salaries for each position according to its classification and associated pay grade. Other groups, like M&P and NUT/TRA, provide salary ranges with some freedom in hiring salary and progression to mid-point and maximum.
Salaries for M&P staff are determined according to a salary grid which is divided into 38 job families and 16 salary levels. The 38 job families represent the different type of work M&P employees performed across campus, including Accounting, Administration, Educational Programming, Information Systems & Technology and Student Management. Each job family is further divided into levels according to the type of work performed and the scope and complexity of the position. Levels range from A-H and each Level is assigned a pay grade from 1-16.