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:
“Your sins have found you out, and now you must pay the price of all women like you. You have brought a child into this world against the commandment. Prayer is wasted on your sort. You should be cast out into the utter darkness ‘til you have learned your lesson. Michael Lewis do you admit your sin?... Then prepare to suffer your punishment.”
—Philip Dunne (1908–1992)
“Life begins at six—at least in the minds of six-year-olds. . . . In kindergarten you are the baby. In first grade you put down the baby. . . . Every first grader knows in some osmotic way that this is real life. . . . First grade is the first step on the way to a place in the grown-up world.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)