Salaries - Merit and Base to be Combined Effective 1 March 2010

This message is sent on behalf of Professor Anthony C. Masi, Provost.

February 22, 2010

To: Deans and Directors

Subject: Salaries - Merit and Base to be Combined Effective 1 March 2010

The concepts of the “merit component” of base salaries and the “merit pool” were introduced into McGill budget and finance lexicons nearly two decades ago.  The objective of the merit pool was to guarantee some funding for annual salary increases in the face of significant reductions to operating budgets in the early 1990s.  The rationale for the merit component was to distinguish base salary requirements for a position from the achievements of professors over the course of their academic careers.  Over time, the objective and rationale were eroded by changing circumstances and the two concepts are now viewed to be outdated and counter-productive.

After due consideration and extensive consultation, I have decided that effective 1 March 2010, we will no longer allow transactions on the merit component and the merit pool will cease to exist.  In essence, existing budgets in the merit fields will be added to the corresponding base salary.  Merit history will be tracked inside of the Human Resources Information System, but not on budget feeds.  Please refer to the attached Executive Summary for the details of this change and its potential impact.

Implementing changes of this type is bound to be stressful for your staff who must deal with these matters on a daily basis.  Jeffrey.Ives [at] mcgill.ca (Jeff Ives), the Director of the Office of the Budget, has instructed his staff to work closely with those individuals in your unit who have responsibility for budgets and other financial matters. With best regards,