Setting salaries is about more than picking numbers. Let our list of policies and practices guide you in creating a salary program driven by process and values.

Of the items listed below, what are you already doing well? Which practices might you work to incorporate next?

For All Employees

_____ We have completed the UUA’s Pay Administration Checklist (PDF) within the past year as a review of common legal requirements of pay administration, including ministerial tax provisions

_____ We have a clear and unified process for determining annual salary changes for all employees.

_____ We are transparent with staff about who is involved and what criteria are used for determining annual salary changes.

_____ We pay all staff at least the living wage for our locality. See MIT Living Wage Calculator. (Use 1 adult, 0 children.)

_____ We track the ratio of the highest to the lowest wage paid to our employees on a per-hour basis recognizing that monitoring this ratio over time helps ensure that lower-paid employees (who generally have less leverage) get appropriate increases relative to those with more power in the system. For 40-hour, year-round staff, divide annual wage by 2,080 to get hourly rate.

_____ We keep abreast of local wage norms for community-based positions.

_____ If we make use of UUA Recommended Salary Ranges, we do our best to move well-performing staff through their respective ranges over time. See Ruler Method, page 10 of this document.

_____ We are aware of annual cost-of-living increases and strive to provide raises that allow staff to maintain their purchasing power. (The UUA tracks and posts the year-over-year change in 3rd quarter average CPI-U.)

_____ We have a process in place to check for salary alignment across the staff team. Do salaries make sense relative to each other, taking into account differences in role and experience?

_____ We review salaries for potential bias and are aware of state laws relating to pay equity. (See Race, Gender, and LGBTQIA+ Wage Gaps Are Real, from Diversity Jobs, and our Staffing for Diversity page.)

_____ Every employee knows about benefits offered by the congregation, which benefits they are eligible for, and their own cost for those benefits, if any. (See below about UU Retirement Plan.)

_____ For congregations in the UU Organizations Retirement Plan: Make sure all of your staff are enrolled in Empower. Every employee (18 and older) can authorize voluntary contributions via salary deferral from day one of employment or anytime thereafter, regardless of hours. Voluntary contributions help employees save for the future and reduce their current tax burden.

For New Hires

_____ When we advertise a position, we include the salary (fixed, minimum, or range).

_____ We do not ask job candidates for salary history. (Doing so is illegal in some states.) See Stop Asking Job Candidates for Their Salary History, from Harvard Business Review.

_____ In discussing salary with a candidate for an open position, we share how the salary offer was determined, including sharing UUA Recommended Salary Ranges, local wage norms, or other information used.

_____ In discussing salary with a candidate for an open position, we explain the general process for determining annual salary adjustments.

_____ In discussing compensation with candidates, we explain the benefits offered by the congregation, which ones the employee would be eligible for, and the cost to the employee, if any. (If your congregation participates in the UU Retirement Plan, every new hire 18 or older must be added to the Empower Empdata form and informed of their ability to make voluntary contributions.)