A pay grade is a unit in systems of monetary compensation for employment. It is commonly used in public service, both civil and military, but also for companies of the private sector. Pay grades facilitate the employment process by providing a fixed framework of salary ranges, as opposed to a free negotiation. Typically, pay grades encompass two dimensions: a "vertical" range where each level corresponds to the responsibility of, and requirements needed for a certain position; and a "horizontal" range within this scale to allow for monetary incentives rewarding the employee's quality of performance or length of service. Thus, an employee progresses within the horizontal and vertical ranges upon achieving positive appraisal on a regular basis. In most cases, evaluation is done annually and encompasses more than one method.
Important employers to use pay grades include:
- U.S. uniformed services pay grades
- U.S. Government pay grades
- United States Foreign Service
- United Nations
Famous quotes containing the words pay and/or grade:
“Through a series of gradual power losses, the modern parent is in danger of losing sight of her own child, as well as her own vision and style. It’s a very big price to pay emotionally. Too bad it’s often accompanied by an equally huge price financially.”
—Sonia Taitz (20th century)
“Ideas are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around, and nearly every book represents what my son’s third grade teacher refers to as a “teachable moment.””
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)