Merit

Merit Salary Increases may not be funded every fiscal year, due to fiscal constraints or other budget considerations. Merit programs are authorized by the system member CEO and approved by the Board of Regents in the budget approval process. Merit Salary Increases within each division of the University are based on the annual budget guidelines and are not considered to be entitlements. Budget guidelines and merit process instructions are communicated by the appropriate Budget Office. Departments are required to keep approval documentation for record keeping purposes.

A Merit Salary Increase may include the combination of a Merit Raise and a Merit One-Time Payment with the same effective date. In the case of staff positions and non-faculty research employees in System Wide Pay Plan (SWPP) titles, who are paid close to or above the SWPP title pay grade maximum, it is strongly encouraged to provide a One-Time Merit Payment to such employees in lieu of a Merit Raise. Merit Raises provided to employees that are above the SWPP title pay grade maximum will be reviewed annually by HROE and may be subject to additional justification and approval.

Merit Payments are also referred to as One-Time Merit Payments. One-Time Merit Payments  are governed by University Rule 31.01.08.M1: Merit Salary Increases. If the criteria of the University Rule are met:

• A One-Time Merit Payment up to $10,000 (cannot be grossed up) may be awarded to an employee. The award is not added to the employee's base pay.
  • Requests for exceptions to the $10,000 limit for employees shall be sent through administrative channels to the Provost and Executive Vice President for academic units or the President for approval.
• The award may be paid from any source of funds if the funding is available in departmental budgets.
• One-Time Merit Payment may be awarded to an employee (excluding positions that require student status) who has successfully completed a special project of significant importance to warrant special recognition.
• Exception: The President may approve a One-Time Merit Payment if six (6) months has not elapsed since the last Merit Salary Increase if the One-Time Merit Payment is given for the employee’s performance during a natural disaster or other extraordinary circumstance. The employee must meet criteria as stated in System Regulation 31.01.08: Merit Salary Increases.

Merit Salary Increase - Regular Budget Cycle

Effective dates of Merit Salary Increases are typically established by approved programs as described in the University Rule. No pay increase may be retroactive, in accordance with Article III, Section 53 of the Texas Constitution prohibits the payment of retroactive increases to State employees. Note: In any instance where an employee received a Merit Salary Increase effective September 1st, the first opportunity for that employee to be awarded another Merit Salary Increase would be March 1st. A Merit Salary Increase awarded after March 1st, will make the employee ineligible to receive a Merit Salary Increase the following September 1st. An employee receiving a Merit Salary Increase must have demonstrated meritorious performance evidenced by the following:

• Texas A&M, Division of Research and Galveston Positions: a "meets expectations" or higher overall rating on the most recent Performance Review. For guidance, see Standard Administrative Procedure 99.03.M0.01: Performance Management and Review Procedure for Non-Faculty Employees.
• Faculty Positions: a current performance review documenting meritorious performance as per department and/or college faculty evaluation guidelines.
• Employee completion of required training courses may be used as additional criteria for Merit Salary Increase eligibility.
• The employee has been employed by Texas A&M University for at least six (6) continuous months prior to the effective date of the Merit Salary Increase and the employee must not have received a Merit Salary Increase (Merit Raise and/or One-Time Merit Payment) within the past six (6) months prior to the effective date of the Merit.

Merit Salary Increase - Outside Regular Budget Cycle

• A Merit Salary Increase may be granted at times other than the beginning of the fiscal year. An employee receiving a Merit Salary Increase outside of the regular budget cycle must meet the criteria described in the Merit Salary Increase – Regular Budget Cycle section. Requests for these increases must be submitted through administrative channels to the appropriate approvers and approved in advance. The effective date will be on or after the beginning of the pay period in which the employee is paid and the request receives final approval from the appropriate Human Resources unit. For non-faculty research positions, the Vice President for Research or designee serves as the approver.
• Normally, increases in base pay on the basis of merit will occur during the regular budget cycle. However, in rare cases, clearly demonstrated meritorious performance or completion of a special project of significant importance to warrant special recognition, may occur for which a Merit Salary Increase may be granted outside of the regular budget cycle.
  • Justification will outline very strong evidence as to why this increase cannot be made during the regular budget cycle and meet the performance criteria stated in the Merit Salary Increase – Regular Budget Cycle section.

• Vice Presidents are authorized to approve a One-Time Merit Payment up to $10,000 for employees of their respective divisions provided the criteria of the University Rule are met.
  • Approval of a One-Time Merit Payment stated in the above section may be further delegated by a Vice President. Written confirmation of delegation to approve One-Time Merit Payments shall be forwarded to the office of the appropriate Human Resources unit.
  • In any division where the approval of One-Time Merit Payments has been delegated, a copy of the approval documents shall be forwarded to the office of the appropriate vice president.
  • Requests for exceptions to the $10,000 limit for employees shall be sent through administrative channels to the Provost and Executive Vice President for academic units or the President for approval.
• One-Time Merit Payments require documentation that indicates fulfillment of the preceding criteria and substantiates the performance or project completion. Departments may use the One Time Merit Comment Template for documentation. Documentation for out-of-cycle merit should include a strong justification as to why this request cannot be made during the regular budget cycle.

• Refer to Request One-Time Payment business process in Workday for One-Time Merit Payment. Visit Workday Help in your Single Sign-On (SSO) menu for a Request One-Time Payment job aid.
• Refer to Request Compensation Change business process in Workday for
• Merit Salary Increase.
• Merit during the budget cycle may be processed in a different manner. Refer to the Office of Budget and Planning for resources and information on the Merit Process in Workday.

• 2021 Merit Process in Workday  (FY22 Compensation Resources)
• University Rule 31.01.08.M1: Merit Salary Increases
• University Rule 31.01.01.M7: Employee Compensation Administration
• System Regulation 31.01.08: Merit Salary Increases
• System Regulation 33.99.03: Performance Evaluations for Nonfaculty Employees
• Standard Administrative Procedure 99.03.M0.01: Performance Management and Review Procedure for Non-Faculty Employees