The Salary Plan Module is comprised of the following components:
- Manage
- Benefits
- Compensation Types
- Position Groups
- Positions
- Employees
Components - Manage
The Administrator can control the Key Segments and related mapping to be used throughout the Salary Plan Module.
All Key Segments used in Salary Plan must have been set up in Model Administration (typically during Operating Plan implementation) to be available for use in Salary P.an
Components - Benefits
This component of Salary Plan is used to define the various employee benefits that will be paid by the organization.
The System Administrator must determine the level of detail and accuracy they require for their budget purposes. This will inform the configuration of the system.
Some organizations may be satisfied with a general benefit percentage that is applied to all compensation, in which case a single benefit type could be set up.
Others may prefer very accurate, detailed calculations, in which case each benefit type must be created and configured individually.
Note that only the employer portion of the benefit should be included (as these are expenses to the organization – the employee portion is an employee cost).
Components - Compensation Types
A Compensation Type refers to a category of compensation provided to an employee for services performed on behalf of the organization. Different compensation types are used to reflect different underlying drivers (who is entitled and when) for each type of compensation:
- Wages –Hourly rate paid to employees based on hours worked
- Salary – Annual amount paid to employees not directly tied to hours worked
- Bonus – a one-time payment for performance
- Overtime – Hourly rate paid to employees for working beyond their standard hours (typically required by legislation)
- Car Allowance – A monthly or annual payment to an employee to compensate for use of a personal vehicle
- Honorarium – A voluntary one-time payment made to an individual for services (may not be an employee) – for example a committee member or volunteer.
Separate Compensation Types are required for employee-specific compensation and compensation that applies to all employees in a particular Position Group:
- Employee-Level Compensation is compensation that applies only to specific employees (vs. all employees in a certain position). Common examples include bonus, car allowance, overtime, and honorariums.
- Position/Step Compensation is compensation that is applied to all employees linked to a particular Position/Step. Common examples of Position/Step compensation include salaries or hourly wages. A separate Position/Step compensation type is commonly also set up to track COLA/wage increases in Salary Plan. This facilitates modelling and Incremental Budgeting.
Each CWBC database is configured with the following core Compensation Types:
- Wages
- Overtime
- Vacation Pay
- Annual Increase
Additional Compensation Types will likely be required.
Components - Position Groups
A Position Group is used to group positions that share common characteristics, such as:
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Standard working hours
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Position Type (e.g. hourly, salaried)
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Salary structure (pay grid / pay scale)
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Benefit eligibility
Position Groups simplify the management of compensation by allowing multiple positions to share the same underlying structure.
A Position Group is completely configurable to reflect your budgeting needs.
Key Definitions
These definitions will help with some of the language that will be used in the rest of this article. The definitions do not align with the system configuration names but are typical definitions organizations will use. After the explanation section that are illustrative examples for further clarity.
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Pay Grid / Pay Scale: A structured table that defines pay ranges and progression levels for a group of positions. (See example in Sample Salary Structure table below)
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Pay Band: A range of pay (minimum to maximum) for roles in the Pay Grid. (These may be called pay grades, job levels, job classifications, etc., in your organization). This will be configured as a Position Group Step in CWBC.
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Progression Level: A defined point within a pay band, often used to represent progression to the full Job Rate over time. (See example in Sample Salary Structure table below). In CWBC, a Position Step would be created for each combined pay band and progression level to be used for budgeting. (e.g. Pay Band 4, Progression Level 3 would be a unique Position Group Step in the CWBC Salary Structure created for the Position Group).
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Progression: The progressive movement of an employee through the various levels within a pay band, typically based on tenure, performance, or agreements, up to the full Job Rate for the Pay Band. In CWBC, tenure-based progressions can be budgeted for each employee by indicating Step Start and End dates.
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Job Rate: The maximum rate of pay within a progression level-based salary structure, typically representing the final step or highest rate an employee can reach within a pay band. Once an employee reaches the job rate, further increases usually require a promotion or structural change rather than progression within the same role.
Examples of Position Groups
Typical Position Groups may include:
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A Union or collective bargaining group
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A Non-union or management group
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Contract or temporary employee groups
Benefits of Using Position Groups
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A shared salary structure reduces the need to maintain individual pay settings for each position
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Centralized updates to pay rates are automatically applied to all related positions and employees
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Scenario modelling allows users to assess the impact of changes to pay rates or structures quickly
Salary Structure (Pay Grid / Pay Scale)
In CWBC, each Position Group has an associated wage or salary structure, often referred to as a pay grid or pay scale.
The salary structure defines:
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Pay bands (minimum to maximum pay levels for positions in the group)
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Progression levels within each pay band (if applicable)
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Associated pay rates for each pay band and level (if applicable). Hourly and annual rates can be accommodated.
This structure forms the basis for all Positions/Step compensation calculations for Positions belonging to the Position Group.
Illustrative Example:
Below is an illustration of 2 CWBC configuration options for an organization with:
- 5 Pay Bands
- 3 Progression Levels
- Hourly rates of pay
Sample Salary Structure
| Pay Band | Level 1 | Level 2 |
Level 3 (Job Rate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 1 | $17.60 | $19.80 | $22.00 |
| Band 2 | $23.00 | $24.75 | $27.50 |
| Band 3 | $28.50 | $30.94 | $34.38 |
| Band 4 | $35.38 | $38.67 | $42.97 |
| Band 5 | $43.97 | $48.34 | $53.71 |
Option 1 - Position/Step Configuration in Salary Plan - All Levels Budgeted
Configure a Position Group called "Option 1"
| Step ID | Pay Band | Level |
Rate ($/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1-L1 | Band 1 | Level 1 | $17.60 |
| B1-L2 | Band 1 | Level 2 | $19.80 |
| B1-L3 | Band 1 | Level 3 | $22.00 |
| B2-L1 | Band 2 | Level 1 | $23.00 |
| B2-L2 | Band 2 | Level 2 | $24.75 |
| B2-L3 | Band 2 | Level 3 | $27.50 |
| B3-L1 | Band 3 | Level 1 | $28.50 |
| B3-L2 | Band 3 | Level 2 | $30.94 |
| B3-L3 | Band 3 | Level 3 | $34.38 |
| B4-L1 | Band 4 | Level 1 | $35.38 |
| B4-L2 | Band 4 | Level 2 | $38.67 |
| B4-L3 | Band 4 | Level 3 | $42.97 |
| B5-L1 | Band 5 | Level 1 | $43.97 |
| B5-L2 | Band 5 | Level 2 | $48.34 |
| B5-L3 | Band 5 | Level 3 | $53.71 |
You will not have to re-create these Steps for all your Position that are in Pay Band 5 since this Pay Grid is shared. Any Position that is grouped into the Position Group = "Option 1" will be allowed to use any of the Steps that have been created in this table.
Option 2 - Position/Step Configuration in Salary Plan - Job Rate Budgeted
Configure a Position Group called "Option 2"
| Step ID | Pay Band | Level | Rate ($/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | Band 1 | Level 3 | $22.00 |
| B2 | Band 2 | Level 3 | $27.50 |
| B3 | Band 3 | Level 3 | $34.38 |
| B4 | Band 4 | Level 3 | $42.97 |
| B5 | Band 5 | Level 3 | $53.71 |
You will not have to re-create these Job Rates for all your Positions since this Pay Grid is shared. Any Position that is grouped into the Position Group = "Option 2" will be allowed to use any of the Steps that have been created in this table.
Components - Positions
The Positions component is used to maintain all positions in the organization. Positions define the roles that employees occupy and link to the salary structure, enabling accurate compensation and benefit calculations in the Salary Plan Module.
Each Position will be allocated to a default Key Segment mapping (fund, cost center, object code etc.) that is used by the system to sync Salary Plan with Operating Plan.
Each Position should be associated to a Position Group to leverage the shared salary structure.
The default Cost Allocation can be changed and/or spread across multiple cost centers at the Employee level as required.
Components - Employees
The Employees component maintains the staff list in CWBC and is used to calculate individual compensation and benefit budgets.
Individual budget amounts can then be rolled up to the Position, Position Group, Department and/or Organization level.
Each Employee is assigned to a Position and a Position Group Step.
Employees inherit the pay band, steps, and general benefit rules from their assigned Position and Position Group, ensuring that changes to positions or pay structures automatically update the salary model.
Individual progression dates, employee-specific compensation and benefits and cost allocations can be assigned to an employee to provide more accurate financial planning.
Employees are permanent in the Salary Plan they are not Year or Dataset specific, employees can be marked inactive but will not be deleted.
