Salaries can change for a number of reasons over the course of employment. Examples of salary increases include probationary increases, step increases, and/or merit pay increases.

Click to expand the sections below for more information on starting salaries and salary progression.

Staff jobs at UBC are designated by employee group and then categorized in job families. 

Open the sections below for links to the occupational guidelines or benchmarks for specific employee groups.

Career Progress Increments (CPI) are awarded according to agreed guidelines to eligible members who demonstrate satisfactory career progress.

The CPI unit value for July 1, 2025 is $2,557.

Guidelines for awarding Career Progress Increments

The over-riding criterion for the award of CPI is satisfactory career progress. Members who are eligible, but who are not awarded an increment, are entitled to an explanation, in writing if they so request.

In cases where a faculty member is promoted before receiving all the CPI applicable to their rank, the remaining increments will be carried forward and awarded (to a maximum of one c/f unit per year), in addition to those applicable to the higher rank, until they are exhausted.

Allocation of CPI

Since the award of career progress increments is guideline-driven – see the Career Progress Increments Schedule (PDF) – no special allocation has been calculated for individual faculties. The value of increments has been carefully calculated and it's expected that there will be no scope for the exercise of discretion beyond the guidelines.

Eligibility for CPI

All continuing members of the bargaining unit who are active on both June 30 and July 1, 2025 are eligible for CPI as of July 1, 2025. This includes the following:

• Members in academic ranks (Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Acting Assistant Professor, Professor of Teaching, Associate Professor of Teaching, Assistant Professor of Teaching), Librarians, Program Directors and Lecturers.

Note that sessional lecturers are not eligible for CPI.

Members in eligible positions who are hired prior to June 30, 2024 are eligible for CPI effective July 1, 2024.

Carry forward of unexhausted career progress increments

Faculty members who are promoted may carry forward unexhausted CPI eligibility from the rank(s) vacated. Unexhausted increments are to be awarded at the rate of no more than one unit each year.

Please note that any eligibility for carry-forward increments is in addition to the concurrent eligibility for the increments appropriate to the new rank. 

Withholding of career progress increments

Career progress increments may be withheld when a faculty member isn't making career progress.

When increments are withheld, the faculty member must be provided with a written explanation by the head of their department no later than the time when other faculty members are notified of their increases.

Notification: Please provide a copy of this notification to UBC's Faculty Relations department as we are required to inform the Faculty Association. 

"0" increment: When the guidelines indicate that a “0” increment is appropriate, this indicates that the individual is no longer eligible for career progress at the present rank. It doesn't constitute the withholding of an increment.

What happens to carry-forward units: The current salary agreement doesn't permit the withholding of career progress carry forward units. These must be awarded in accordance with the eligibility criteria as indicated above. If career progress increments are withheld, the money will be added to the salary pool for the purpose of establishing the value of next year’s career progress increment. They will not be re-distributed within the Faculty.

Modifications and interpretation of guidelines

The guidelines have been formulated on the assumption of standard career development. They may require adjustment for non standard cases so that impeded career development is not financially advantageous.

For example, this principle would apply when an individual is appointed as an acting assistant professor because of a failure to have in hand the normal appointment qualifications. This should be taken into account in awarding career progress increments when their title is changed to assistant professor.

Similarly the schedule of increments for associate professor of teaching is based on the assumption that initial appointment will be at the rank of assistant professor of teaching rather than assistant professor. An assistant professor is eligible for three increments more than an assistant professor of teaching over the first five years of the appointment, and this should be taken into account in the later stages of the associate professor of teaching’s career. 

Checking career progress and LOS CP Increments

To ensure that the correct Career Progress (CP) and Length of Service (LOS) CP Increments are processed for faculty members in the annual Faculty Salary Increase process, administrators must check the accuracy of the CP data for their faculty members.

CP & LOS CP reports are available in Workday, and administrators will need to run these to check the CP & LOS CP data for their faculty members.

Job evaluation enables consistent and transparent classification decisions to be made about positions, as information is evaluated in the same way within established parameters.

Job evaluation is a systematic process used to determine the relative value of jobs, in relation to other jobs in an organization in order to determine appropriate pay rate, position titles, duties and responsibilities of a position. 

Job evaluation or classification is typically done when a position is new or vacant and a hiring manager wants to ensure they are recruiting for the correct level, or when the duties of an existing position have changed substantially (reclassification). 

Staff jobs are evaluated based on the nature of work, typical duties and responsibilities, decision making and accountability and overall best fit against benchmarks and guidelines related to each employee group. Individual performance and volume of work are not considered criteria in evaluating jobs.

Job evaluation process

1. Create a job description

Create a job description that outlines the specific duties, responsibilities and qualification requirements.  It is important to keep this document up-to-date as not doing so can lead to incorrect classification – we suggest reviewing job descriptions every year. Ensure you are following the different sections of the job description template when creating a job description.

2. Determine classification

Determine the appropriate classification by assessing the nature of work, identifying the employee group, reviewing the appropriate occupational guidelines or benchmarks and determining the best fit. 

Departments can independently classify staff positions in most employee groups, except for: 

• Management & Professional
• Executive Administrative Staff
• BCGEU Okanagan

The job evaluation process for BCGEU Okanagan is slightly different — for more information, refer to the BCGEU Okanagan section of the Staff position reclassification page. 

3. Attach all relevant documents in Workday

For jobs that go to Compensation for review, complete the Position Description Checklist and Questionnaire form, below:

Position Description Checklist and Questionnaire (PDF) 

Submit the Position Description Checklist and Questionnaire and the job description for classification in Workday. 

For UBC Okanagan jobs, submit the position description to Angela McLean for classification prior to submitting in Workday. 

4. Wait for Compensation team to review

The compensation team typically reviews jobs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, in the order that they are received.

If you would like your job reviewed on:

• Tuesday, submit your job by 4:30 pm on Monday
• Thursday, submit your job by 4:30 pm on Wednesday

Please note that if the Compensation team is experiencing a heavy volume of submissions, there may be delays in review times — the Compensation team aims to provide initial feedback within 2 days of the job review meeting. Your compensation partner will contact you if there are any questions. 

Retiring from UBC and pension information

There is important information on the UBC Pension Plan website and the retirement page has information on UBC’s retirement and survivor benefits program as well as other retirement benefits that will assist your staff member with their planning.

When an employee provides notice that they will be retiring, cover off all outstanding work-related items prior to your employee's last day. This includes ensuring the return of any UBC property including keys and equipment. Please ensure you review the Offboarding for managers page and associated Offboarding guide and checklist for managers.

Please share the leaving UBC page with your departing staff member, which will inform them of personal items they may wish to look into before leaving the university. In addition, employees can refer to the relevant Collective Agreement or terms and conditions of employment to understand the specific provisions that apply when they decide to retire.

Pension options

Reduced Work Policy (HR9) 

Required resignation notices and unused vacation information related to faculty and staff who resign from UBC.

Staff resignations

When a staff member resigns, they are required to give notice of their departure. The length of the notice time varies according to the employment group.

• CUPE 2950: 10 working days
• CUPE 116 (Regular employees): One month
• CUPE 116 (All other employees with more than three months continuous service or more): One week
• CUPE 2278: 10 working days
• BCGEU (Child Care): One Month
• Management and Professional (M&P): One month
• Non-Union Technicians: Three weeks
• Executive Administrative: Three weeks

If your employee gives less notice than required, please contact your Human Resources Representative to discuss your options.

Faculty

Faculty members planning to resign should provide notice well in advance of the intended resignation date. For faculty who are members of the Faculty Association, resignation will take effect on June 30, except upon agreement with the university for another date. 

Resignation should be made in writing to the responsible head, director, dean, associate-provost teaching and learning, or university librarian.

Student employees

Student employees who are represented by CUPE 2278 (with marker or teaching assistant appointments) are required to give notice of 10 working days.

Other types of student employee appointments are governed by the BC Employment Standards Act. If you have questions around a student worker providing notice, please contact your Human Resources Representative. 

Unused vacation

If a staff has unused accumulated vacation time when they leave UBC, they’ll be paid out for it on their last paycheque.

If they have taken vacation in excess of what they have earned, an amount equivalent to the payment of the unearned vacation will be deducted from their final paycheque.

If you have questions about vacation payout, please contact your Human Resources Representative as soon as you receive the employee's notice.

At UBC, we endorse and support our faculty and staff in their use of names other than legal names to identify themselves for professional, personal, or privacy reasons.

The following guidelines explain the importance of, the ways to support, and legal limitations around the use of preferred names.

As part of our commitments to build a more welcoming, inclusive, and equitable environments, please respect the preference identified; an exception may be made in the few instances where legal obligations exist.

Preferred names: Is it a preference?

UBC’s HR system provides an option for all UBC employees to provide a “preferred name.” To reflect language in most HR systems, these guidelines primarily use the term “preferred name” to refer to the name that an employee uses that is different from their legal name.

This terminology does not suggest that a preferred name is merely a preference that can be disregarded. UBC staff and faculty may choose to use other expressions, such as “chosen names,” in reference to a name that is different from a person’s legal name.

Background and rationale

The following guidelines provide direction to ensure that employees’ preferred names are used wherever legally possible (and more consistently) at the university. Using the preferred names of faculty and staff, whether on official university documentation, in IT systems, and in everyday conversation, upholds Policy SC7 – Discrimination (formerly Policy #3) and the UBC Respectful Environment Statement.

Many employees use preferred names. For example, some employees have a professional identity that includes a first or last name that is different from their legal name.

Having information systems display a preferred name helps lessen confusion in interactions with students and colleagues (who may not realize that “Jane Kim” and “Michelle Doe” are the same people as “Minjun Kim” and “Michelle Perez”), supports faculty and staff’s professional identities, ensures privacy when needed, and helps create a respectful work environment.

For trans and non-binary employees, who are protected on the ground of gender identity and gender expression in BC Human Rights legislation, the use of preferred names can be especially important to ensure safety and privacy. Learn more about gender diversity.

Considering that many people make assumptions about someone’s gender based on their name, many trans and non-binary people use a preferred name that reflects their gender identity and/or expression.

Being able to use a preferred name can also help reduce the likelihood of trans and non-binary employees being misgendered by colleagues. Addressing a person using their preferred name and gender has been recognized by human rights tribunals as best practice for non-discrimination (2022/2023 BCHRT 54).

Permissible use of preferred names

As per the UBC Data Standards on Person Name (page access requires CWL login), preferred names may concern an employee’s given name, last name, or both.

Except as defined in Section 3 of these guidelines, members of the university community are entitled to use preferred names to identify themselves. The university acknowledges that preferred names should be used as consistently as possible in an employee’s daily work life, in communications with the employee/er, and in information systems.

For example, an employee’s preferred name can be used in the following contexts:

• UBC Directory
• Faculty & staff email (FASmail)
• Offer letters
• Recommendation letters
• Name tags, website staff bios

Prohibited use of preferred names

a.) The use of a preferred name does not replace areas where a legal name is required by law (Section 5).
b.) The use of a preferred name cannot be used for misrepresentation or fraudulent purposes.
c.) The choice of a preferred name must be appropriate, cannot be obscene, and must not violate any university, provincial, or federal policies or regulations.
d.) Images or symbols (such as $ or %) are not administratively eligible to be implemented in preferred names. Accents and other linguistic symbols should be accepted if there is technical ability (e.g., Bäcker, Muñoz, Loïc, Sørina). This includes phonetic characters used in Indigenous languages, such as xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam).

The university reserves the right to remove any preferred name in contravention with these guidelines without prior notice to the individual.

Display of preferred names

The university recognizes that current systems do not consistently display preferred name information.

Going forward, the university should work to display preferred name information to the university community wherever feasible and appropriate, and should make a good faith effort to update reports, documents, and systems so that an employee’s preferred name(s) can be used consistently.

The display of preferred name information should be a priority in all systems that display name information publicly (e.g., course schedules, directories) and/or to other members of the university community (e.g., UBC Card, service requests).

Legal name requirements

The use of an employee’s legal name is required in the following contexts:

a.) Forms or documents related to Canada Revenue Agency, such as pay stubs, T4s or T4As.
b.) Forms or documents related to health benefits.
c.) Forms or documents related to the employee’s pension plan.

The university reserves the right to add additional contexts when in accordance with legislation or law.

Prefixes

To support a welcoming, inclusive, and equitable environment at the university and the consistent use of preferred names, prefixes (such as Ms., Mr., Mx., Dr., etc.) should always be optional on forms and in systems.

This recommendation is aligned with UBC Data Standards on Person Name (page access requires CWL login).

Privacy

UBC staff with certain administrative needs (e.g., Human Resources) may see both legal and preferred names.

All employees with access to employment, benefits, and other sensitive information should be trained on the implications of this access, the use of preferred and legal name, and the importance of keeping legal name information private except on a “need-to-know” basis.

Procedure for employees to enter a preferred name in Workday

Employees can change their preferred name in Workday. For Workday resources and help visit the Integrated Service Centre. 

Conclusion

We continue to advance a consistent use of preferred names across UBC, building on earlier efforts that focused on enhancing the student experience. If you or your staff would benefit from further education on these topics, the Equity & Inclusion Office supports education efforts as well as systems change across the university.

A resource for managers and administrators to support transgender, Two-Spirit, and non-binary (T2SNB) employees at work, wherever they are in their journey and whether or not they have shared with you. 

Ensuring a T2SNB employee has a seamless experience at UBC begins with respecting their chosen first name and pronouns, and maintaining their privacy around their identity. This toolkit contains terms and concepts for greater understanding of T2SNB individuals. Learn more about applicable human rights legislation and recent case law clarifying managers’ roles in washroom access and pronouns.

The toolkit also provides information on how to indirectly support T2SNB employees who choose not to come out or before they do so. It also covers specific steps managers need to take to support someone while they come out at work (e.g., communications and educational plans). For some, there is a continuous need for support with ongoing challenges, even after coming out. This toolkit summarizes key expectations for workplace culture and interpersonal interactions.

Toolkit for managers

If you are looking to support a T2SNB employee in the workplace, view the Supporting T2SNB Employees toolkit (PDF).

Supporting T2SNB Employees

If you would like to provide feedback on the contents of this toolkit, we welcome your thoughts, ideas, and concerns via a brief, anonymous survey.

Disclosure plan

You can download a disclosure plan template (Word) that is designed to help managers and supervisors support a T2SNB employee in coming out at work.

Disclosure Plan

The toolkit above provides answers to frequently asked questions common among managers and supervisors supporting T2SNB employees, such as: 

• What are the unique and often invisible challenges that T2SNB employees face at UBC?
• Are there different needs among T2SNB employees at various stages of their journey?
• What are the specific steps to take when supporting T2SNB employees when coming out at work for the first time?
• How does human rights legislation and case law apply to me as a manager of a T2SNB employee?
• Do I have to remember all the different terms and concepts?
• How much time does it typically take to support someone to come out at work?

A manager's responsibilities to T2SNB employees include:

• Keep private T2SNB person’s legal name and T2SNB status
• Encourage respectful work environment and lead by example
• Be aware and respectful of cultural needs of Two-Spirit employees
• Educate yourself on gender diversity
• Support education of your team/department
• Ensure T2SNB employee has resources and support they need, including accommodations
• Prevent discrimination as part of hiring, training, compensating, promoting, and terminating processes
• Prevent bullying and harassment related to gender identity and/or expression
• Provide access to appropriate washrooms, change rooms, dress code, and uniforms
• Avoid unnecessary personal questions
• Efforts should be made to accommodate if a T2SNB employee needs all-gender facilities (even if there are only men’s and women’s facilities)
• Do not require T2SNB employees to use only all-gender facilities
• If disclosing, support the employee through a well-defined and documented process of disclosing their gender to colleagues and within the system 

Information for employees

This page provides resources specifically for managers and supervisors supporting their T2SNB employees. Related resources for faculty and staff are available on the Getting support as a T2SNB employee page.