How to Process Postdoc Actions

UPK: Job Aid: Postdoc Job Setup for Multiple Concurrent Jobs (Postdoc plus non-Postdoc Job) 

UPK: Job Aid: Postdoc Job Setup - Payroll Components 

Overview 

This overview document summarizes the key data related to postdoc appointments. 

 SINGLE POSTDOC APPOINTMENT 

MULTIPLE POSTDOC APPOINTMENTS 

Postdoc Fellow or Paid Direct plus Postdoc Employee Supplement (to bring the annual rate up to the minimum for level) 

 Use the Comp Rate Code of UCFELM/UCPDMO which will suppress the FTE for the monthly pay calculation. 

 FTE Calculation: 

1. Take the total annual amount of the fellowship divided by the annual postdoc level rate to get the FTE for the Postdoc Fellow job. 
2. Subtract the Postdoc Fellow Job FTE from 1.00 to get the FTE for the Postdoc Employee job. 
3. Total sum of FTEs must = 1.000000 

 Example: 

 NOTE: 

Monthly stipend rates should not be pro-rated: 
For Postdoc Fellows that change stipend rates midmonth, do NOT prorate the monthly rate. UCPath will automatically calculate the monthly pay based on the monthly flat rate and effective date. For example, an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow receives a monthly stipend of $4,392 through June 5, 2020, and then on June 6, receives an increase to NIH Level 1 rate of $4,423. You would enter effective June 1, flat monthly rate of $4,392. Then enter effective June 6, flat monthly rate of $4,423. UCPath will calculate the first rate for the 5 working days, and 17 days at the new, higher rate. 

Enter multiyear awards with current year information and update annually.  
To avoid cascading issues, enter the appropriate end date for the multi-year appointment and enter the current stipend rate and step. Then update the stipend rate annually. 

No off-scale coding.  
UCPath does not allow OS coding for postdocs. Enter the total annual rate as directed above, using Salary Admin Code T023 for 3252, 3253, 3254, 3256 and T023N for 3255 (non-exempt, biweekly).  Do NOT separate the annual base rate with the off-scale increment and enter the OS as a separate pay component.  

Postdoc Salary Scales.  
Postdocs have one salary scale that is adjusted every October 1. The Salary Admin Codes of T023 or T023N (for non-exempt) must be entered. Each year, the postdocs rates will be adjusted centrally via UC Path and/or dept administrators will be contacted to adjust rates for Fellows and Paid Directs.

Anniversary Date 
The Anniversary Date field in UC Path should be the initial University of California postdoctoral scholar effective date/reappointment date plus one year. For example, if the initial UC postdoc appointment/hire date is 7/14/2025, the Anniversary Date is 7/14/2026. If the postdoc has a multi-year appointment, or is reappointed, in July 2026, the anniversary date would be updated to 7/14/2027. The anniversary date field is used to determine the experience level increase date and leave balance allotment.

MULTIPLE CONCURRENT JOBS 

POSTDOC COMBINED WITH LECTURER OR OTHER NON-POSTDOC JOBS 

 Overview 

Postdocs are generally appointed 100%, either in a single postdoc job code (Postdoc Employee, Fellow or Paid Direct) or in a combination of postdoc job codes that add up to 100% effort.  

Occasionally postdocs may be appointed with split effort in a concurrent non-postdoc academic or staff job code.  For example, postdocs who teach part-time must be appointed in an appropriate instructional job code (usually a Lecturer job code), with their postdoc effort reduced accordingly. The appointment, Comp Rate Code, Comp Frequency, and FTE setup used will vary depending on whether the postdoc is a Postdoc Employee, Fellow, or Paid Direct, or some combination of the three. 

The most common concurrent, non-postdoc job is Lecturer. It is highly recommended that before you proceed, review the “How to Hire a Unit 18 Lecturer with a Concurrent Staff or Academic Job” aid for detailed information and instructions. The job aid will guide you through the pre-process and system steps. 

Note on Benefits:  If the postdoc has a concurrent non-postdoc appointment that is equal to or greater than 50% FTE, postdoc may become eligible for faculty/staff benefits.  Departments should contact their Benefits, Postdoc office or UCPC to confirm which benefits program the postdoc is eligible for, and should ensure that the postdoc understands their eligibility and options. 

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR EMPLOYEE  

When a Postdoc Employee holds a concurrent, part-time, non-postdoc job, the FTE and monthly pay on the postdoc job is reduced accordingly. Ensure that the combined FTE adds up to 1.0 and does not exceed 1.0.  The comp rate code ‘UCANNL’ should be used; the Comp Frequency Code will derive to A. The FTE is applied when calculating monthly compensation rates for the UCANNL comp rate code. 

Example 1: Postdoctoral Scholar Employee + Lecturer (one quarter): 

Job 1: Postdoctoral Employee 

Job 2: Lecturer AY 1/9 at 50% 

• 5th year Postdoctoral Scholar Employee (job code 003252) paid $61,800/yr (Experience level 4).
• Concurrent Lecturer AY 1/9 (job code 001632) at rate of $62,232/yr at 50% time.
• The postdoc job FTE is reduced to 50% time so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%. 

The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

• Do not add JED. The earnings codes will be set based on the derived Paygroups 

• Job 2 (001632 Lecturer AY 1/9) appointment is at 0.50 FTE 

• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/9)*0.50 

• Job 1 (003252 Postdoc Employee) FTE is reduced from 1.00 to 0.50 

• Job 1 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/12)*0.50 

• Sum of FTE = 1.000000 

• Total Monthly compensation = $2,575 + $3,457.33 = $6,032.33

Example 2: Postdoctoral Scholar Employee + Lecturer (3 quarters): 

Job 1: Postdoctoral Employee 

Job 2: Lecturer AY 9/12 at 50% 

• 5th year Postdoctoral Scholar Employee (job code 003252) paid $61,800/yr (Experience level 4). 

• Concurrent Lecturer AY 9/12 (job code 001632) at rate of $62,232/yr at 50% time (for teaching a large lecturer course or first time teaching exception). 
• The postdoc job FTE is reduced to 50% time so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%.

The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

•  Do not add JED. The earnings codes will be set based on the derived Paygroups 
• Job 2 (001632 Lecturer AY 1/9) appointment is at 0.50 FTE 

• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/9)*0.50 

• Job 1 (003252 Postdoc Employee) FTE is reduced from 1.00 to 0.50 

• Job 1 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/12)*0.50 

• Sum of FTE = 1.000000 

• Total Monthly compensation = $2,575 + $3,457.33 = $6,032.33 

POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR FELLOW OR PAID DIRECT 

(WITH AND WITHOUT SUPPLEMENT) 

 PLEASE NOTE: The Postdoc Employee supplement should be set up as shown below, and NOT as additional pay.  Setting it up as additional pay may result in incorrect payments and incomplete data showing on reports, including reports to the union. 

 When a Postdoc Fellow or Paid Direct with or without a supplement paid on a Postdoc Employee job code,  holds a concurrent part-time, non-postdoc appointment, the combined FTE of all concurrent postdoc jobs is reduced accordingly.  First, determine the FTE of the concurrent, part-time, non-postdoc appointment and then subtract that FTE from 1.0. The remainder will be the FTE for postdoc appointment. Ensure that the combined FTE adds up to 1.0 and does not exceed 1.0.   

 The comp rate code UCFELM should be used for the Postdoc Fellow appointment, or UCPDMO for a Postdoc Paid Direct. The Comp Frequency Code will derive to M. The system will not apply the FTE to the monthly compensation rate when using UCFELM and UCPDMO Comp Rate Codes. The monthly compensation rate must be calculated manually and entered into UCPath as a flat rate. This ensures that the monthly fellowship or paid direct amount is not reduced by the change in FTE. 

 Example 3: Postdoctoral Scholar Fellow (no supplement) + Lecturer AY (one quarter) 

Job 1: Postdoc Fellow with extramural funding in excess of UC experience-based rate 
Job 2: Lecturer AY 1/9 at 50% 

• 4th year Postdoc Fellow (003253); extramural funding is $60,000/year 

• This is more than the experience-based rate for Experience Level 3 ($59,580), so no supplement is needed 
• Concurrent part time (50%) Lecturer AY 1/9 appointment at rate of $62,232 per year 
• The FTE in the Postdoc Fellow job is reduced to 50% so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%. However, the monthly amount paid on the fellowship remains the same and set as a flat rate by using the Comp Rate Code of UCFELM as mentioned above. 

The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

• Do not add JED. The earnings codes will be set based on the derived Paygroups 

• Job 2 (001632 Lecturer AY 1/9) appointment is at 0.50 FTE based on policy. 

• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/9)*0.50 = $3,457.33 

• Job 1 (003253 Postdoc Fellow) FTE is reduced from 1.00 to 0.50 

• Because Comp Rate Code UCFELM is used, the Monthly Compensation Rate is not reduced by the reduced FTE:  it remains the same as the Comp Rate, which is 1/12 of the annual fellowship funding 

• Sum of FTE = 1.00 

• Total Monthly compensation = $5,000.00 + $3,457.33 = $8,457.33 

Example 4: Postdoctoral Fellow + Postdoctoral Employee supplement + Lecturer (one quarter) 

Job 1: Postdoc Fellow 

Job 2: Supplement – Postdoc Employee 

Job 3: Lecturer AY 1/9 at 33% 

• Concurrent Part time (33%) Lecturer AY 1/9 appointment at rate of $60,714 per year 

• The combined FTE in the Postdoc Fellow and Postdoc Employee jobs is reduced to 67% so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%. However, the monthly amount paid on the fellowship remains the same 

• 4th year Postdoc Fellow (003253); extramural funding is $35,000/year 
• This is less than the experience-based rate for Experience Level 3: ($59,580), so at 100% FTE, a supplement paid on the Postdoc Employee job code would be needed 

The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

Do not add JED. The earnings codes will be set based on the derived Paygroups 

• Job 3 (001632 Lecturer AY 1/9) appointment is at 0.33 FTE 

• Job 3 Monthly Compensation Rate = (Comp Rate/9)*0.33 = $2,281.83 

• Combination of Job 1 and Job 2 FTE is reduced to 0.67 

• FTE for Job 1 (003253 Postdoc Fellow) = $35,000 (the annual fellowship rate)/$59,580 (the Postdoc Employee annual rate) = 0.587445 

• Because Comp Rate Code UCFELM is used, the Monthly Compensation Rate is not reduced by the reduced FTE:  it remains the same as the Comp Rate, which is 1/12 of the annual fellowship funding 

• FTE for Job 2 (003252 Postdoc Employee) = 0.666667 - 0.587445 = 0.079222 

• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = ($59,580/12)*0.079222 = $393.34 

• Sum of FTE = 1.000000 

• Total Monthly compensation = $2,917.67 + $393.34 + $2,281.83 = $5,592.84  

Example 5: Postdoc Paid Direct + Postdoctoral Employee supplement + Senior Statistician 

Job 1: Postdoc Paid Direct  

Job 2: Supplement – Postdoc Employee 

Job 3: Senior Statistician (Staff Job Code) 25% 

• Concurrent Part time (25%) STATISTICIAN SR appointment at rate of $75,000 per year  

• The combined FTE in the Postdoc Paid Direct and Postdoc Employee jobs is reduced to 75%, so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%. However, the monthly paid direct amount remains the same. 

• 5th year Postdoc Paid Direct (003254); extramural funding is $45,000/year. 

• This is less than the experience-based rate for Experience Level 4: ($61,800), so at 100% FTE, a supplement paid on the Postdoc Employee job code would be needed. 

 The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

•  Do not add JED. The earnings codes will be set based on the derived Paygroups 
• FTE for Job 3 (007212 STATISTICIAN SR) = 0.25
• Job 3 Monthly Compensation Rate = ($75,000/12)*0.25 = $1,562.50 
• Combination of Job 1 and Job 2 FTE is reduced to 0.75 
• FTE for Job 1 (003254 Postdoc Paid Direct) = $45,000(the annual direct funding)/$61,800 (the Postdoc Employee annual rate) = 0.728155 
• Because Comp Rate Code UCPDMO is used, the Monthly Compensation Rate is not reduced by the reduced FTE:  it remains the same as the Comp Rate, which is 1/12 of the annual extramural funding (paid direct) rate 
• FTE for Job 2 (003252 Postdoc Employee) = 0.750000 - 0.728155 = 0.021845 
• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = ($61,800/12)*0.021845 = $112.50 
• Sum of FTE = 1.000000 
• Total Monthly compensation = $3,750.00 + $112.50 + $1,562.50 = $5,425.00; however, only the salary from Job 2 (Postdoc Employee) and 3 (Sr. Statistician) will be paid from UC Path.  The monthly stipend for the Postdoc Paid Direct will be paid directly to the postdoc from their funding agency. 

Example 6: Postdoc Paid Direct + Senior Statistician 

Job 1: Postdoc Paid Direct 

Job 2: Senior Statistician (Staff Job Code) 25% 

• Concurrent Part time (25%) STATISTICIAN SR appointment at rate of $75,000 per year  
• The Postdoc FTE is reduced to 75%, so that the total FTE does not exceed 100%. However, the monthly paid direct amount remains the same 5th year Postdoc Paid Direct (003254); extramural funding is $61,800/year. 

 The items in BOLD are entered into UC Path Pay Component section: 

•  FTE for Job 2 (007212 STATISTICIAN SR) = 0.25 
• Job 2 Monthly Compensation Rate = ($75,000/12)*0.25 = $1,562.50 

• FTE for Job 1 (003254 Postdoc Paid Direct) = 0.75 

• Because Comp Rate Code UCPDMO is used, the Monthly Compensation Rate is not reduced by the reduced FTE:  it remains the same as the Comp Rate, which is 1/12 of the annual extramural funding (paid direct) rate 

• Sum of FTE = 1.000000 
• Total Monthly compensation = $5,150 + $1,562.50 = $6,712.50 however, only the salary from Job 2 (Sr. Statistician) will be paid from UC Path.  The monthly stipend for the Postdoc Paid Direct will be paid directly to the postdoc from their funding agency. 

Pre-Process

• Appointment dates (start and end)
• Determine UCPath position Effective Date (at least one month prior to the appointment start
• date)
• Business Unit (SDCMP or SDMED)
• Job Code (2 leading zeros + 3252, 3253, 3254, 3255, 3256)
• Department Code
• Reports To position number (look up faculty mentor in Job Data and select appropriate position
• number). Reports To field should always contain the position number of the designated
• supervisor.
• FTE (If necessary, see FTE Calculation Aid below).

2. In your internet browser, navigate to UCPath (ucpath.universityofcalifornia.edu). Access depends on your role and your provisioning.
3. From the campus list, Select “University of California - San Diego”
4. Complete Single Sign-On using your Business Systems login
5. Confirm Duo Authentication

System Steps

1. Select PeopleSoft Main Menu > Organizational Development > Position Management > Maintain
2. Position/Budget > Add/Update Position Info. Click on the button
3. Click “Add” button. Once you’re in the module, you will see 5 tabs. Start in the Description Tab.
4. In Specific Information Tab, the most important information is the FTE field.
5. If the Postdoc will only have one appointment, enter 1.0 and click the “Add to FTE Actual Count” box. The Effective Date field will automatically populate with today’s date. Change the date to at least one month prior to the appointment start date. This provides at least 30 different day “slots” to make changes to the position before you process the hire. Any prior date will work, however, best practice is to use one month prior to appointment start date and a date that is within the active pay scale date.
6. In the Reason field, select NEW.
7. Position Status, select Approved.
8. Under Job Information, fill in Business Unit, Job Code (and click Tab), Union Code (PX) and click select the appropriate value from the Full/Part Time dropdown; FLSA Status will default from the Job Code
9. Under Work Location, fill in Dept Code and Reports To
10. Select the appropriate Salary Admin Plan (T023 or T023N) and Grade (postdoc salary level: e.g. L1); do not enter Step
11. Navigate to next Tab. Note: If the Postdoc will have more than one appointment, determine the percentage for this appointment based on 100% total for all appointments. If you don’t know what that will be, it can be changed later either in Position Management (if position remains vacant) or in PayPath if the position is already associated with a Job and Person (after the hire is processed).
12. Leave the Max Headcount to the default value of 1.
13. UC is not using the following fields: Signature Authority, Confidential Position, Job Sharing Permitted, and Available for Telework
14. Leave Budgeted Position checked
15. Pre-Encumbrance Indicator, Encumber Salary Option, and Classified Indicator default from the
16. Job Code; do not update
17. UC does not use the Calc Group or Academic Rank fields
18. Do not check the Update Incumbents checkbox when creating a position – you will receive an error message. Also, do not check this box when making an update to a vacant position. There are a few cases where you may need to use the Add/Update Position Info page to make an update to a filled position (e.g., change Union Code, etc.).
19. If you are using the Add/Update Position Info page to make an update to a filled position, you should check the Update Incumbents checkbox as part of your update transaction.
20. Navigate to next tab, UC Position Data tab. Enter the HR Worksite ID (require); HR Worksite ID is “6” (for UC San Diego) followed by the department code (e.g. 6-000121) and is required for integration with Tracker
21. Select the appropriate Employee Relations Code (all others, not confidential)
22. Populate the Special Training Code field with S. The Special Training Code field will be used as additional criteria by the UC Learning Center to assign the Faculty and Supervisor version of the Sexual Harassment Prevention eCourse to additional positions requiring this training due to responsibilities of job, regardless of not being designated as faculty or supervisor. Please Note: A designation of “S” in this field is not an indicator of training completion; it indicates that any incumbent occupying this position is required to complete the training. The code is specific to the position, not to the person occupying it. Refer to the Understanding Your Tracker Options in UCPath Quick Reference for more information
23. There is no data entry required on the Budget and Incumbents tab.
24. In Supporting Documents, add any necessary documents. There is no system requirement for documents in Position Management.
25. Run through all the tabs again and review for any errors.
26. Once you’ve confirmed the information, click Save to generate the new position number. A best practice is to keep a running spreadsheet of all the positions you create and the intended postdoc (if known).