Rest & Wages

Paychecks are issued on a bi-weekly basis in accordance with the Sunday through Saturday payroll week. The process is dependent upon where you are working.

On-campus Positions
If you are working on-campus, your name will appear on the department's student time sheet. Each week, you and your supervisor are responsible for reporting your daily hours to the department's payroll coordinator. The payroll coordinator will report these hours to Student Payroll through the departmental time sheet. Your paycheck will be issued bi-weekly on Fridays after the time sheets is submitted and will be sent to your department for distribution.

Off-campus FWS Positions
If your position is at on off-campus FWS site, your name will appear on a set of time sheets provided to your off-campus employer, once your PA has been processed. You and your supervisor must complete a time sheet each week and return it to SES by 10 am on Thursday. As with on-campus time sheets, your supervisor will be responsible for reporting the number of hours you worked each day. Your paycheck will be mailed every other Friday by SES.  Paychecks are mailed to your address that is on file with Human Resources, if your address changes, please notify Human Resources.

Direct Deposit
Student employees may arrange to have their paycheck directly deposited into their checking or savings account. This can save you time by allowing your pay to go directly into your bank account, relieving you of the need to deposit your paycheck. Students who have signed up for direct deposit will be mailed their bi-weekly direct deposit stubs.  The necessary paperwork is available in both SES and Student Payroll. Direct Deposit stubs are mailed to your address that is on file with Human Resources, if your address changes, please notify Human Resources.

Rest Period

Students who work in excess of 3 hours are entitled to a 15 minute paid break.

Students who work in excess of 6 hours are required to take a 30 minute meal break. This break is unpaid and is in addition to the 15 minute paid break to which they are entitled. The student should sign out on the department's time roster at the beginning of the meal break and sign back in at the end of the meal break. The 30 minute meal break requirement is based on Massachusetts state law.

The scheduling of breaks is determined by the employer. However, break periods may not be taken to cover late arrival or early departure from work. Break periods may not be accrued or used at a later date. (The University does not recommend that students work shifts in excess of 8 hours.)

Wage Guidelines

The following wage guidelines are used by Student Employment Services (SES) in assigning hiring wage rates and pay increases for student employees. These guidelines help ensure a level of wage equity across campus for students performing similar responsibilities. Each student employment position is assigned to one of four grade levels based on the answers to a corresponding Job Description Survey, which evaluates the level of responsibility based on the following factors: Nature of Work; Knowledge/Experience Required; Supervision Received; Supervision Exercised; and Confidentiality. Positions with similar survey ratings are assigned to the same Grade Level.

Supervisors intending to employ students must first submit a job description form to SES. In conjunction with the supervisor, SES will review the position and assign the appropriate Grade Level. Once a hiring decision has been made, the student may be offered a starting pay rate based on the ranges below.

Grade	Hiring Range	General Description
I	$6.75 - $7.25	Grade I has been phased out effective Fall 2006 to reflect Massachusetts new minimum wage.
II	$8.00 - $9.00	Positions in this level complete basic or routine tasks with set defined procedures to tasks with a broader scope and large impact.  Students hired into the lower half of the range will have little to no experience.  Students hired into the upper half of the range will have previous experience.  Students in the lower half of the range will receive significant supervision, while the upper range will work more independently and may exercise some supervision/training of other students.
III	$9.25 - $10.25	Positions in this level complete high level tasks requiring interpretation and independent judgment. Previous experience is necessary to complete tasks, which have a broad scope and impact. Typically students work independently, and supervision of other students is often involved.
IV	$10.75 - $12.50	Positions in this level complete complex, significant tasks, involving independent interpretation and development of procedures. A high level of knowledge or previous experience is required. Students work independently, and often exercise significant levels of supervisory responsibility over other student employees.

After the initial hire has occurred, students may receive increases in their pay rates for two reasons: the student has taken on additional responsibilities in the department, or the student's performance merits an increase in the pay rate.

Additional Responsibilities:
If a student has taken on additional responsibilities or has been promoted to a new position within the office, the student's pay rate should be adjusted to fall within the hiring range for the Grade Level of the new position. (The minimum raise for students who are promoted to a higher grade level is 75 cents.) If the position has not previously been listed, SES will need a revised job description on file documenting the new responsibilities/position.

Merit Increases
Students may be given merit increases for meritorious job performance at the discretion of the supervisor. If the supervisor feels that a student's job performance merits an increase in pay, the student may receive a merit increase of thirty cents (.30) for each complete semester or summer that the student has worked since the last pay rate increase. (Increases cannot be retroactive.) Merit increases may be offered at the end of each semester or summer, or they may be accumulated and offered on an annual basis.