Staff

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Contact information

Fax: (787) 832-1545

Office Hours: 7:30 am to 4:30 pm (Monday through Friday

Office Location: R&D Administration Building

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Recruitment and selection of personnel

The most common appointments for personnel involved in funded projects are those that involve:

• Additional Compensation(Compensación Adicional)
  
• Special Appointments (Nombramiento Especial)
  

Some projects do require Professional Service contracts. These contracts are handled by the Office of the Director, and involve the legal counselor.

The HR Office staff can help you search for qualified candidates, evaluate potential candidates you may have in mind, and guide you through the hiring process. We can provide you resumes, post a job offer to start a search, and other related services. In order to help you, the R&D Center Human Resources Staff needs the following basic information:

• The duties of the position
  
• Whether you have any qualified candidates in mind or not
  
• If there are restrictions or special requirements for the position (eg. US citizenship, particular expertise)
  
• Funding available

For special appointments, you are not required to make a formal job offer if you have well qualified candidates in mind. But, if you don’t have qualified candidate, the R&DC HR Office can provide you with resumes or help you post a job offer through our office. The job offer must be open during fifteen (15) days. If enough candidates apply during that period, the posting will close. If not, it must be opened for another fifteen (15) days before you can hire from the candidates that applied for the position.

If a candidate is not a US citizen, you should contact Mr. Carlos Rosas, at the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office, extension 5418 or 2415, email: carlose.rosas@upr.edu, for a complete orientation. If he or she is a US citizen, the regular hiring process applies.

About salaries and benefits

All positions, titles and salaries, should be aligned with the University of Puerto Rico’s Retribution and Classification Plan. Please always contact our HR Office for further details before making any salary offer.

The fringe benefits vary depending on the type of the special appointment, whether it is full time or part time, on the number of hours and length of the appointment. Consult the R&D HR Staff, since different types of appointments may have different benefits. Medical insurance benefits are optional, depending on the proposal and the budget. A full-time appointment is not required for this benefit and there is no minimum appointment period to provide it. Nonetheless, if the recruited person is a foreign citizen, Immigration Law requires the employer to provide medical insurance benefits.

All special appointments accumulate vacation and medical leave time. By law, you (the hirer) have to pay the unused part if they leave before exhausting all of it. Thus, make sure your personnel uses its benefits prior to completing its appointment period, or it may impact your project’s budget.

Remember that the PI, Co-PI or immediate supervisor will be the person responsible for choosing the right candidate for the job. HR can assist in the process as required.

Please notify the HR Office at least one month in advance of your intentions to hire, so we can guide you throughout the process. If you are considering hiring a retiree, they can only be re-hired after 2 yrs of retirement.

If you are doing this process for the first time or if you have any questions, please contact:

Ileana Latorre - Acting Supervisor/ Human Resources Analyst I(ileanam.latorre@upr.edu
Telephone: (787) 832-4040 Ext. 5234, Fax: (787) 832-1545

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Hiring

Send the chosen candidate to our HR Department for orientation. He or she will receive a Hiring Package which contains all the documentation he/she must comply with in order to create the personnel file. Meanwhile, the hiring unit (e.g. department) should be completing the personnel action documents (PAPP), the Letter to the Chancellor, and the Appointment Justification Form. In case of an appointment with federal funds, Form 125-A should also be completed and submitted. It is recommended that you send the draft to Ileana Latorre for revision before it is final and the necessary signatures are requested.

Please make sure that the final hiring documents have all the necessary signatures before sending it to our HR Department (PI, Director, Department Dean). The pending signature will be the approval of the R&D Center (CID) Director) who will sign it upon certification of the availability of funds. Please specify in the Personnel Action (PAPP) document and the Letter to the Chancellor if the person to be hired will have health insurance benefit. All the paperwork must be completed, the appointment approved by the Chancellor, and the oath taken by the candidate before he/she can start to work.

If you are doing this process for the first time or if you have any doubts, please contact:

Ileana Latorre - Acting Supervisor/ Human Resources Analyst I(ileanam.latorre@upr.edu
Telephone: (787) 832-4040 Ext. 5234, Fax: (787) 832-1545

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Other

The HR Office provides the following services to the employees:

Orientation on responsibilities and benefits:

• HR will give orientation about health insurance, attendance records, ordinary and sick leaves, fringe benefits, general rights and responsibilities, etc, to every new employee according to their type of appointment. Remember that every employee has its unique needs and they will be considered by the HR Department as they arise.
  
  
• HR will provide orientation to employees on: their rights and responsibilities under the union and UPR administration agreements. A Collective Agreement “Convenio Colectivo” Catalog is not available for all employees, but any employee can come or call the HR office for orientation.

Attendance records and Health insurance Issues:

• The employee attendance record and the health insurance will be managed by Mrs. Leonora Grin. Please feel free to call her at ext. 5246 if you have any questions.

Resignation:

• If the employee is going to finish his appointment before the appointment’s termination date, he or she must notify with 30 days in advance. A written notice of intent, with the approval of the immediate supervisor, addressed to the Chancellor is required. Contact the HR Office for details (787) 832-4040 Ext. 5234, fax: (787) 832-1545, e-mail: ileanam.latorre@upr.edu

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Frequently Asked Questions

• How can the R&D Center HR Office help me recruit the personnel I need for the project administered at the R&D Center?
• What information should I provide the R&D Center HR Staff to help me recruit the personnel I need?
• What salary should I consider for a given position?
• What are the current UPR Fringe Benefits?
• How long will it take to hire someone for a project?
• Can I recruit a member of my family (spouse or immediate family member)?
• Where can I find the HR Forms?
• Who should I contact for consultation on hiring issues?
• What is a SASE and when it is needed?
• What are vacation and medical leave benefits? How can they impact my project’s budget?

How can the R&D Center Human Resources Office help me recruit the personnel I need for my project which is administered at the R&D Center?

The most common appointments for personnel involved in funded projects are those that involve:

• Additional Compensation (Compensación Adicional)
• Special Appointments (Nombramiento Especial)
• Hourly Wage (Jornal)

Some projects do require Professional Service contracts. These contracts are handled by the Office of the Director, and involve the legal counselor.

The HR Office staff can help you search for qualified candidates, evaluate potential candidates you may have in mind, and guide you through the hiring process. We can provide you resumes, post a job offer to start a search, and other related services.

What information should I provide the R&D Center HR Staff to help me recruit the personnel I need?

In order to help you, the R&D Center Human Resources Staff needs the following basic information:

• The duties of the position
  
• Whether you have any qualified candidates in mind or not
  
• If there are restrictions or special requirements for the position (eg. US citizenship, particular expertise)
  
• Funding available

For special appointments, you are not required to make a formal job offer if you have well qualified candidates in mind. But, if you don’t have qualified candidate, the R&DC HR Office can provide you with resumes or help you post a job offer through our office.

The job offer must be opened for 15 days. If enough candidates apply during that period, the posting will close. If not, it must be opened for another 15 days before you can hire from the candidates that applied for the position.

Is the candidate a US citizen, or not?

If a candidate is not a US citizen, please contact the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Office at extension 2415 for a complete orientation.

If he or she is a US citizen, the regular hiring process continues.

What salary should I consider for a given position?

All positions, titles and salaries, should be aligned with the University Of Puerto Rico’s Retribution and Classification Plan. Please always contact our HR Office for further details before making any salary offer. In addition, the salary must include UPR’s agreed Christmas bonus and the current annual pay rate increase. An additional benefit, subject to availability of funds, is the 5 years-salary increase (quinquenio): 5 yrs ($20.00/mo); 10 yrs ($25.00/mo); 15 yrs ($30.00/mo); 20 yrs ($35.00/mo); 25 yrs ($40.00/mo); 30 yrs ($45.00/mo).

The fringe benefits vary depending on the type of the special appointment, whether it is full time or part time, on the number of hours and length of the appointment.

For example: You can provide health insurance if the special appointment is full time (37.5 hrs/week) with duration of 6 months or more (optional benefit). However, for a 37.5 hrs/week special appointment with duration of less than 6 months, health insurance does not apply, unless the recruited person is a foreign citizen.

Vacation and Medical Leave Benefits:
All special appointments accumulate vacation and medical leave time. By law, you (the hirer) have to pay the unused part if they leave before exhausting all of it. Thus, make sure your personnel uses its benefits prior to completing its appointment period, or it may impact your project’s budget.

Other benefits: Consult the R&D HR Staff, since different types of appointments may have different benefits.

What are the current UPR Fringe Benefits?

Employees may have the following benefits: Social Security, Medicare, Unemployment, Retirement Fund, Fondo Seguro del Estado (State Disability Insurance), Health insurance. Click here for the current rates.

Fringe benefits vary depending on the type of the special appointment, whether it is full time or part time, on the number of hours and length of the appointment.

For example: You can provide health insurance if the special appointment is full time (37.5 hrs/week) with duration of 6 months or more (optional benefit). However, for a 37.5 hrs/week special appointment with duration of less than 6 months, health insurance does not apply, unless the recruited person is a foreign citizen.

Consult the R&D HR Staff, since different types of appointments may have different benefits.

What are the Vacation and Medical Leave Benefits? How can they impact my project’s budget?

All special appointments accumulate vacation and medical leave time. By law, you (the employer) are obliged to pay all unused leave time. Thus, make sure your personnel uses their leave time benefits prior to completing their appointment period, or it may impact your project’s budget.

How long will it take to hire someone for a project?

Please notify our Office at least one month in advance of your intentions to hire, so we can guide you throughout the process. If you are considering to hire a retiree, they can only be re-hired after 2 yrs of retirement.

Can I recruit a member of my family (spouse or immediate family member)?

You must verify with the Puerto Rico Government Ethics Office (Oficina de Ética Gubernamental de Puerto Rico (http://oegpr.net)) for a waiver (dispensa) before making a job offer. This process may take 3 to 6 months. The waiver is granted for the current fiscal. Must be renewed annually, if applies.

Where can I find the HR Forms?

HR Forms are available in our Research & Development Web Page. Click here to access those forms.

Who should I contact for consultation on hiring issues?

If you are doing this process for the first time or if you have any doubts, please contact:
Ileana Latorre - HR Analyst
at ext. 5234 , fax: (787) 832-1545, e-mail: ileanam.latorre@upr.edu

What is a SASE and when it is needed?

SASE means “Solicitud de Autorización de Servicios Especiales”. This form (Compensación Adicional con SASE) is used when the person receiving the additional compensation belongs to a different department at UPRM at which the special services are provided. Thus, the approval of the department to which the employee belongs is required.