Salary-setting dialogue

Uppsala University conducted salary-setting dialogues for the first time within the framework of the 2016 salary revision. The number of organisational areas within the University that use salary-setting dialogues has increased slightly over the years. Salary-setting dialogues take place in at least two occasions and are held between manager and employee. These parts are sometimes called occasion 1 and occasion 2 or part 1 and part 2.

The first dialogue: Performance

The first dialogue, occasion 1, should be a traditional salary dialogue that only focuses on performance, that is why it sometimes also is referred to as a performance dialogue. The discussion about the salary doesn't happen until the second dialogue.

The idea is that both manager and employee, after hearing each other during the first dialogue, should be able to reflect on what could be a reasonable proposal for a new salary for the second dialogue.

The second dialogue: Discussion on salary

The second dialogue, occasion 2, which focuses on salary, is not a salary negotiation in the traditional sense. Both parties, the employee and the manager, should come to the conversation with a well-founded picture of what they believe would be a reasonable new salary. As mentioned, the salary-setting discussion is not a salary negotiation, but it is not a one-sided salary presentation either. The salary should be justified and fair. This means that the manager should not propose a salary that is lower than what corresponds to the performance and that the employee should not propose a salary that is higher than what corresponds to the performance.

In principle, this second dialogue is described as just a dialogue. There is no requirement for employees and managers to sign the agreement at once. On the contrary, the dialogue about salary should normally include a break where the employee and the manager gets the opportunity to think about it seperately. The employee can then contact the Saco-S Association for further salary statistics or just for advice and support in general.

Signing the agreement during or after the second dialogue

The change in the principles, from the 2019 year's revision, open up for the manager and employees, if they agree on the salary at the second dialogue, to sign the agreement at once. However, there is still no requirement for this and the Saco-S Association recommends that employees who are not completely sure if they think the proposal for a new salary is fair, wait to sign and perhaps turn to the Saco-S Association for advice and support.

Supported dialogue

Should it be the case that the employee and the manager cannot agree on a salary, then it is possible to forward the dialogue to a supported salary dialogue.

In a supported dialogue, the following people are included:

• the employee
• the manager
• a representative from the Human Resources Division
• a local union representative.

The supported dialogue aims to sort out any questions from the first two dialogues.

It is important not to over-dramatise the supported dialgoues. An employee who wants a supported dialogue is not difficult employee. It is the employer's pedagogical task to be able to explain their proposal for a new salary, so that the employee understands the basis for it. The fact that there is no greater financial space is not a reason for unfair salaries and unreasonable salary differences between employees.

Assessment areas

When the performance is to be assessed, you must use the assessment areas established by the management and the salary criteria that your division has chosen to use.