Classifications and Reclassifications

Once a new position has been approved, it will need to be classified. In order for a new position to be classified, a Classification Review Form (CRF) should be submitted to your HR Consultant. FAS staff positions are classified on the basis of the complexity and scope of duties and responsibilities assigned and exercised. Each position is assigned a classification that is used on official records and links the position to a job family, job code and grade.

For reclassification requests, the following criteria will apply:

• There have been substantial and permanent changes in job duties, job complexity and/or knowledge and skills required. Changes to a position can occur naturally over a period of time or as the result of organizational changes.
• More than one third of the job responsibilities have significantly increased in scope and complexity.
• The employee has successfully carried out the new responsibilities for four months or more.

To be consistent across the FAS, the effective date of all reclassifications for current incumbents will be the first day of a future payroll cycle following the final PREP approval of the action and requested salary. The department must enter approved reclassifications in Aurora in advance of the desired effective date. Retroactive processing of reclassification actions of incumbents will no longer be allowed.

1. The FAS Department completes the Classification Review Form (CRF). Typically, the manager of the role (if it is a new or vacant position) writes the description, describing the roles and responsibilities and articulating the scope and scale of the job. If there is an incumbent in the position, the employee should be involved in completing the form to make sure that it accurately captures the duties and responsibilities of the role.
    
2. The department submits the completed CRF to their FAS HR Consultant. The HR Consultant works with the department (Department Administrator, manager, and incumbent, as appropriate) to ensure that the CRF accurately and completely describes the work being performed.
    
3. HR Consultant submits the completed CRF to the Classification Committee inbox. Because the CRF has been vetted by both the department and HR Consultant at this time, the date the CRF is received in the classification inbox will be recorded as the date HR received the CRF for purposes of calculating the classification review time.
    
4. Within one business week of receiving the completed CRF, a Classification Analyst will reach out to the department to schedule an interview with the manager and incumbent (if applicable).
    
5. Classification Analyst meets with manager and employee (as appropriate) and conducts the classification analysis. In addition to meeting with the department, the Classification Analyst will look at University benchmarks, FAS and Harvard-wide comparable positions, and when applicable, will review the role with a subject-matter expert.
    
6. The FAS Classification Committee reviews the CRF, together with the analysis, and determines the most appropriate classification. Please note, if the role is determined to be an exempt grade 55 or 56 role, the role will be sent to Central Compensation for FLSA review. Once a determination of the FLSA status of the role has been received, the Classification Committee will notify the HR Consultant of the classification decision.
    
7. Your consultant will follow up with you re: committee results and equity review if appropriate. For all reclassification, your next step will be to enter the request into the PREP system. More information on PREP is available here.

It is important to note that not all changes in a position will result in the position being reclassified to a higher grade. Changes in job duties that may be at a higher level, but are not substantial enough to justify a higher salary grade through reclassification, will result in an update of the existing position description and no change in salary grade or classification. While an equity review is automatically conducted if a position review does not result in a reclassification, it does not mean that every analysis will lead to a salary increase.

HUCTW staff are encouraged to review contract guidelines for further information on how reclassification requests apply to union staff.

An equity increase is an increase to the base salary that may be granted to an employee under certain circumstances, such as increased duties that do not warrant a reclassification or a significant salary lag to comparable internal positions or the local labor market. The intent of equity review is to provide consideration to critical and/or unusual pay administration problems.

• A compelling argument must be made concerning the rationale to increase an employee's base salary.
• Increases are separate and distinct from the merit programs. Equity adjustments are not to be used to circumvent the University’s merit programs.
• Equity increases are subject to funding availability.

A request for an equity review should be submitted via email by a manager or Department Administrator to your HR Consultant who will work with the Compensation Analyst.