Labor Relations

Meeting Summary: June 24, 2014

Biweekly Pay Cycle Demonstration

UW walked through draft visual calendars demonstrating the transition from the current semi-monthly pay cycle to a future biweekly pay cycle:

  • Transition: The Biweekly Pay Cycle at a Glance summarizes semi-monthly paydays in 2015, biweekly paydays in 2016, and a brief transition pay period between the two cycles in December of 2015.
  • Future State: The 2016-2017 Payroll Calendar details pertinent dates on a biweekly cycle in 2016 and 2017, including paydays, end of pay periods, and timesheet approval deadlines.

The Transition from Semi-monthly to Biweekly

UW emphasized the importance of ensuring a smooth transition from semi-monthly to biweekly pay cycles. UW outlined the following pertinent dates, noting that these dates may change depending on decisions made during the project design phase:

  • Last Semi-Monthly Payday: Employees will receive their standard semi-monthly paycheck on December 24, covering the pay period of December 1-15, 2015.
  • First Biweekly Payday: First pay date on the new cycle will be January 8, 2016, covering the period of December 20 through January 2.
  • Bridging the Gap: Employees in a pay status between December 16 and 19 will be paid for these days via a “short” check, likely on December 29, 2015.

Employee Impacts

Smaller Paychecks more Frequently – A biweekly pay cycle is comprised of 26 pay periods instead of the current 24. Employees will receive the same annual take-home pay, just divided across more paychecks. In other words, shorter pay periods mean smaller individual paychecks that arrive more frequently.

Maintained Predictability – A biweekly pay cycle brings added consistency, as each pay period contains 14 days. While the amount per paycheck will be less than on the semi-monthly cycle, there is still predictability for bills and automatic payments: the first paycheck of the month will never come later than the 14th of the month, and second will never come later than the 28th of the month.

Timely Premiums – Though pay periods will be shorter, HR/P Modernization will also result in a shorter lag time from the end of a pay period to the corresponding payday. This means that premiums earned during a pay period will actually be paid on the subsequent pay date.

Individualized Examples – UW provided a Pay Cycle Transition Plan, using specific union-represented UW job classes as examples to demonstrate what the transition could look like for individual employees.

Next Steps

Questions that have arisen throughout these discussions can be found in the HR/P Labor Relations Frequently Asked Questions, and full details on the project are located on the HR/Payroll Modernizationwebsite. The next HR/P Labor Discussion is scheduled for July 8. Union participation and input in these meetings is strongly encouraged, and the University is providing paid release time for designated employees to attend.