$1,000 bonuses after COVID year, raises and new benefits coming for UK employees
Paid family leave, retirement contributions, salary increases and $1,000 bonuses would go to some University of Kentucky employees under a plan that requires Board of Trustees approval, President Eli Capilouto said.
In a campus-wide email Thursday, Capilouto outlined the budget changes that would apply to all staff members. Faculty would be eligible for some of the benefits while UK HealthCare employees’ pay is set through a separate process. The university has about 12,000 staff and 2,000 faculty, according to its website.
- The minimum hourly pay for regular employees would increase from $12.50 to $13.75 on July 1 before hitting $15 on Jan. 1, 2022.
- Most staff would get two weeks of paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child and one week of paid leave to care for an ill parent. Those who are 0.5 full-time equivalent and greater are eligible. Faculty leave is set through a different process.
- Merit increases of 2 percent would begin Jan. 1. Capilouto noted the pay increase is the eighth in 10 years. UK HealthCare workers’ merit increases will be decided in the fall.
- Faculty and staff (who were hired by Dec. 31) would get $1,000 bonuses in July to “recognize the outstanding efforts and sacrifices our people have made over the past year” during the COVID pandemic. The “one-time payments” will be “prorated by full-time equivalent.” The plan doesn’t include UK HealthCare staff.
- The budget also includes an expected resumption of UK’s 10 percent retirement contribution starting July 1. It’s “one of the most competitive retirement benefits available anywhere,” Capilouto said.
The raises and changes in benefits come a year after the state’s flagship university cut its retirement contributions and instituted furloughs and layoffs after COVID-related shutdowns led to drops in revenue and a $72 million shortfall.
The university did not release the proposed budget for the next fiscal year on Thursday. That information and whether it will seek a tuition increase will come later, UK officials said.
UK trustees will meet June 16 -17.
Members of a newly organized campus union who have repeatedly asked for the $15 minimum wage for employees applauded the university for the proposed increase.
Cory Pollard, a custodial worker at UK, said: “We are pleased to announce that [pay increase]. We have fought this past year, two years for Capilouto to listen to us. It’s a very big victory, a turn in the right direction.”
But the pay proposal doesn’t go far enough, said Abi Stephens, a member of the United Campus Workers of Kentucky.
“Even with this change, too many workers are unable to live on the pay they receive at UK. Graduate student workers need stipends that provide a living wage, and undergraduate workers deserve to earn at least $15 per hour,” Stephens said. “We need fair compensation for our contributions to this campus.”
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 9:49 AM.
