[Amended 6-14-2022]
The Town of Tolland offers a pay plan with pay schedules consisting of pay levels directly comparable to the classification levels on the classification plan. Each pay level (or classification level) has established minimum and maximum pay rates. Any salary rate established for an employee shall represent the total remuneration for the employee, not including reimbursement for official travel. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, e.g., overtime compensation or working out of classification, no employee shall receive pay from the Town at other than within the pay rate established for the classification level of his or her position. The Town will provide job applicants with the pay range of the position for which the applicant is applying before or when offering the applicant the job, or when the applicant requests it during the application process, whichever is earlier. The Town will provide employees with pay range information for their position at time of hire, if their position changes, or upon the employee's first request for a wage range.
The Town Manager will annually prepare and recommend a pay plan as described above to the Town Council. The recommendations of the Town Manager will be based upon consideration of all factors relevant to the maintenance of sound compensation practices. An initial pay plan and all changes in the pay plan itself will be submitted to the Town Council for approval. During the life of an approved pay plan, the Town Manager shall have the authority to make and approve changes in employee compensation, as circumstances require.
Pay increases, promotions and other salary actions are based upon acceptable performance (merit) and are not considered to be automatic or based on length of service alone. (See Article XI on performance evaluation.)
[Amended 6-9-2009]
A. 
Starting rates. An employee appointed to a position should normally be compensated at the minimum rate of pay assigned to the job class to which the position is allocated, subject to the approval of the Town Manager; however, appointment at a salary above the minimum level may be made if such action is justified by exceptional qualifications of the applicant or by lack of qualified applicants available at the minimum rate. Conversely, with the approval of the Town Manager, appointment below the minimum may be made where the only available candidate possesses less than the minimum qualifications for a classification. All permanent employees hired as of July 1, 2009, are required to participate in direct deposit for payroll checks.
B. 
Probationary period. The purpose of a probationary period is to allow a supervisor to closely observe an individual for a period of six months to nine months. Satisfactory completion of the probationary period does not create any contractual right to continued employment thereafter. To advance from the minimum pay rate to the subsequent pay rate after initial appointment, an individual must successfully complete the probationary period preparing himself or herself adequately for satisfactory performance of his or her job. The department head shall have discretion to extend the probationary period an additional three months. The department head must certify as to the employee’s satisfactory performance at the completion of the probationary period in order for the employee to receive his or her first merit step increase. Similarly, a probationary period must be satisfactorily completed by newly promoted employees before they will be advanced to the next higher pay level.
C. 
Merit increases. Increases within the range of an established classification level shall be dependent upon specific written certification by the department head that the employee is performing at an acceptable level of competence. (See Article XI on performance evaluation.) The Town Manager, may grant pay increases every 12 months upon reviewing detailed written statements from the department head specifying the employee’s exceptional performance, reclassification of the incumbent’s position, or the existence of unusual employment conditions that make such action necessary. In no instance will a salary increase be given to any employee until the probationary working period has been satisfactorily completed.
D. 
General increases. Whenever general pay increases are granted, all employees in the affected class or classes will receive an increase simultaneously.
E. 
Rate of pay on transfer or demotion. When an employee is transferred from a position in one job class to a position in another job class or is transferred with no change in a job class, he/she shall continue to be paid at the same rate. When an employee is demoted to a lower classification level, his or her salary shall be set at the rate in the lower pay level, which provides the smallest decrease in pay.
F. 
Pay for temporary assignment outside classification.
(1) 
When an employee is temporarily assigned via personnel action to a position in a job class with a higher minimum rate of pay (working out of classification) for a period of 60 consecutive calendar days, he or she shall be considered for additional compensation to be determined by the department head and Town Manager. Written notice from the employee’s present and future supervisors requesting the temporary assignment and pay change shall be forwarded to the Town Manager prior to the effective date. This notice shall be filed in the employee’s record in order to reflect experience in a different class, which may serve to add up to the employee’s total qualifications.
(2) 
When an employee is temporarily assigned to a position in another job class for which the minimum rate of pay is the same as the employee’s regular class or to a class with a lower or minimum rate of pay, this pay during the temporary assignment shall remain the same. Written notice, as described above, should be forwarded to the Town Manager to be filed with the employee’s record.
(3) 
Should the temporary assignment continue for an extended period of time and it is unlikely that the employee will resume his or her original duties, the employee will be transferred to the new position, through reclassification of the job, and paid according to the provisions of Subsection E above.
G. 
Payroll deductions. The Town will automatically deduct from an employee’s paycheck the employee’s share of the cost of pension, social security, federal income taxes and any other authorized deductions.
H. 
Compensation for boards' and commissions’ clerical work. Personnel authorized to do clerical or secretarial work during after-duty hours for any Town board, commission or committee shall be paid the established rate for the board, etc., as established by the Town Council, including all work for that meeting.