Establishing Individual Employee Base Pay Rates

Leaders are responsible for establishing the Base Pay Rate for their Employees. The guidelines on the following pages are provided to assist Leaders in making Base Pay Rate decisions within the established Pay Range. The HRBP may be contacted to assist with issues, as needed.

Base Pay Rates and provisions contained in external grants will be processed in accordance with the grant.

It is intended the Employee Base Pay Rates will fall within the established Pay Range, although there may be situations in which they do not.

When making Base Pay Rate decisions, Leaders should consider the knowledge, skills and abilities of the candidate or Employee as well as internal consistency among others performing same or similar Jobs.

As a general rule, Employees will be paid at no less than the minimum or no greater than the maximum of the Pay Range assigned to the Job.

If an existing Employee’s Base Pay Rate is below the Pay Range minimum for the Job (a “Green-Circled Rate”), those Employees will be eligible for Base Pay Rates increases, as appropriate. Situations in which an Employee remains at a Green-Circled rate should be very rare.

If an existing Employee’s Base Pay Rate is at or above the Pay Range maximum for the Job (a “Red-Circled Rate”), those Employees will not be eligible for Base Pay Rate increases until their Base Pay Rate is below the Pay Range maximum for the Job.

An Employee whose Base Pay Rate would exceed the Pay Range maximum if the Employee were to receive a Base Pay Rate increase, will be eligible, instead, to receive:

• A pay increase that raises the Employee’s Base Pay Rate to the Pay Range maximum, and
• A Lump Sum Payment that is equal to the remaining amount that would have been added to their Base Pay Rate.

An Employee whose Base Pay Rate is at or exceeds the Pay Range maximum, will be eligible, instead, to receive a Lump Sum Payment that is equal to the amount that would have been added to their Base Pay Rate.

Situations resulting in a Red-Circled Rate may include:

• Employee with very long tenure in a particular Job.
• Employee who has been Demoted or Transferred to a lower Job Level.

For example: A full-time Employee with a current Base Pay Rate of $15.00 and a Pay Range maximum of $15.15 is to receive a 2% pay increase ($15.00 * .02 = $0.30). The Employee would receive an increase of their Base Pay Rate to $15.15. The Employee would also receive a Lump Sum Payment of $312 ($0.15 * 2080 = $312).

When establishing the Base Pay Rate offer for an external candidate, consideration should be given to the following:

• Competitive recruiting conditions for this field, specialty, skills, etc.
• External market factors influencing the Base Pay Rate and the University’s immediate hiring needs.
• The candidate’s experience and qualifications.
• Years of work experience will be determined based on comparison to the Job Description and should be directly related to the duties being performed in the Job.
• The years of experience that are required as the minimum qualification of the job should not be considered. For example, if the job requires 2 years of experience and the candidate has 5 years of related experience, only the 3 years that aren't required for the job are considered.
• Education that exceeds the Job’s minimum requirement should not be used as an equivalent for work experience unless specifically stated in the Job Description.
• The position of the proposed Base Pay Rate in the Pay Range and its relation to the Base Pay Rates of other similarly qualified and/or experienced Employees in the same Job and department.

To assist Leaders, each of the Pay Ranges have been divided into quartiles. Descriptions detailing typical expectations within each quartile are provided below. These descriptions should be used to evaluate both individual (candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities and certifications) and external factors (budget availability, Internal Consistency) that affect the Base Pay Rate being offered to the candidate.

• Meets the minimum qualifications established for the Position.
• Has little or no related experience to the field in which the Position exists (typically 0-4 years).
• Requires additional training to build necessary knowledge and skills to successfully perform the Position.

• Possesses qualifications that are equal to or slightly better than minimum qualifications for the Position.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the duties expected to be performed in the Position (typically 5-9 years).
• May require additional training to perform the duties successfully and independently.

• Meets both minimum and preferred qualifications established for the Position.
• Demonstrated ability to perform the duties successfully and independently in the Position (typically 10-14 years).
• Consistently exhibits core competencies required of the Position.

• Meets both minimum and preferred qualifications established for the Position. Considered a subject matter expert in the Position.
• Exhibits extensive breadth and depth of knowledge that brings significant value to the University (typically 15+ years).
• Serves as an expert resource, role model or mentor to others either in the department, college or University.

The proposed Base Pay Rate is submitted by the department for review by Human Resources (“HR”). No offer of employment may be extended until it has been reviewed by HR.

• Return at same Base Pay Rate, if returning to the same Job.
• Treated same as internal Employee with regard to Transfers, Promotions, Demotions, etc., if changing Jobs.

• Treated as external new hire with the following additional considerations:
• The new Base Pay Rate should not be lower than the previous Base Pay Rate, if being hired into the same Job.
• The new Base Pay Rate would typically not be a significant increase from the previous Base Pay Rate, if being hired into the same Job.
• The length of time until the rehire may impact the above considerations.

• Employees may receive a Base Pay Rate increase to at least the new Pay Range minimum.
• The Managing Pay within the Range chart in the New Hire Offer section should be consulted to ensure consistency.

Note: Situations in which a Job Evaluation has been conducted for an existing Job which resulted in the reassignment of a single Job and all Employees in that Job to a higher Pay Range are not considered a Promotion.

• The Employee may receive a Base Pay Rate decrease that should be within the Pay Range of the new Job.
• In limited circumstances, Employees may be “Red-Circled” (have Base Pay Rate remain above a Pay Range maximum). Exceptions above Pay Range maximum will require approval of the Divisional Officer.
• Performance issues and/or department/unit needs may be considered when determining whether a Base Pay Rate decrease should occur.
• Methods to determine a Base Pay Rate decrease include:
  • A decrease equal to the increase amount given when the Employee moved into the existing Job, if it can be easily determined.
  • The Managing Pay within the Range chart in the New Hire Offer section may also be consulted, if other options are not appropriate.
  • Under no circumstances may an Employee receive a Base Pay Rate increase for a Demotion.

Note: Situations in which Job Evaluation has been conducted for an existing Job which resulted in the reassignment of a single Job and all Employees in that Job to a lower Pay Range are not considered a Demotion.

Transfers will typically not result in a Base Pay Rate adjustment. If a pay adjustment is necessary, please see the In-Range Adjustment process.

An In-Range Adjustment may be appropriate in certain situations with the following considerations:

• Should only be given for a significant increase to scope or responsibilities. It is rare that a significant increase in scope or responsibilities will not affect the Job Description, so Leaders should first determine whether the Employee is actually performing a different Job (either one that exists in the Job Catalog or a new Job that needs to be defined and added to the Job Catalog).
• If moving the Employee to a new Job is not necessary, the Base Pay Rate increase should typically be between 3% and 7% of the Employee’s current Base Pay Rate.
• The respective Leader may consult with the HRBP for further guidance.

Base Pay Rate increases that are not one of the reasons in this section or during the annual cycle described in the section Base Pay Rate Increases to Support Compensation Philosophy should be rare. An Off-Cycle Base Pay Adjustment is requested by utilizing the Base Pay Adjustment Request Form.

Base Pay Rates which are not consistent with the Guidelines in this section or which may create equity or compression will require review and approval of the appropriate Divisional Officer.

← Previous Section Next Section →

MBC Transition Team
MarketBasedComp@wichita.edu 

SME: JO
Updated: 09/02/2026 NH