Service Awards
Staff service awards are administered by Human Resources in association with the vendor, the Michael C. Fina Company, Inc. The Fina Company submitted a competitive bid and has completed the licensing procedure to use University logos for the program. You may browse the program at the Gift Online website. In the “Company Code” box, put in 2164. You will be able to select a gift only when you are eligible to do so and have an id number.
Staff employees are eligible for service awards after completing at least 10 years of service, and every five years after that (15, 20, 25 and so on). If you have questions about service awards, please call the numbers listed for “service awards and retirement gifts” on the Records Management Assignments page of the HR website, or send an email to svcawards@berkeley.edu.
Service Awards Eligibility
All service with the University of California, DOE Laboratories, and the State of California (including service with the State Universities and Colleges and Hastings College) at 50 percent time or more is counted to determine an employee's eligibility for service awards. Academic service is included to determine length of service, but awards are granted only to staff employees. Periods of leave with pay, military leave, and leave without pay due to work-incurred injury or illness are included when calculating length of service. Service credit for service awards, retirement gifts, and vacation accrual increases may not correspond to the amount of credit one has in the UCRS retirement system or to one’s seniority points for layoff.
Service Award Requests
The Service Award Request Form (Word) is now interactive and on-line. You may complete it, save it, and then send it by email with “Service Award Request” in the email subject line to svcawards@berkeley.edu.
Timing of Service Award Requests
Service award requests may be sent to Employee Relations at any time; however, there is a quarterly schedule for sending names of recipients to the Fina Company for folders to be produced so that they may be distributed to employees in a timely manner.
The award submission schedule will be as follows:
| Service Anniversary Date | Deadline to submit requests | Expected Receipt of Award |
|---|---|---|
| January 1-March 31 | January 23 | March 31 |
| April 1-June 30 | April 17 | June 30 |
| July 1-September 30 | July 17 | September 30 |
| October 1-December 31 | October 2 | December 22 |
Requests that are submitted after the deadlines will be completed in the next quarter.
Types of Service Awards
Service Awards are granted to employees who complete ten or more years of University service at one-half time or more, and an award is given at each five year interval beyond ten years. All awards are presented in a folder with a letter from the Chancellor and a certificate of appreciation. Employees with at least 25 years of service are eligible to choose a gift, information about which will be included in the presentation folder.
- Ten Years of University Service. A service award pin is given to an employee who completes ten years of service at one-half time or more.
- At 15 years, the employee receives a pen with the University "Cal" script logo.
- At 20 years, a desk clock is given and an employee is eligible to purchase a "Central Campus" parking pass through Parking & Transportation.
- Beginning at 25 years of service, employees have the opportunity to select a gift. Please go to the Gift Selection site (enter code 2164) to browse gifts at each level of service.
- Upon reaching a milestone of 45 years of service, an employee will receive a two-diamond service pin as well as the opportunity to select a gift.
Change in Vacation Leave Accrual Rate
In addition to receiving a Service Award, employees are given a higher accrual rate for vacation as they accumulate service. The standard accrual rate increase is two additional hours a month after ten years and two hours a month every five years after that, up to 16 hours maximum. Employees who were part of A&PS and moved into Personnel Policies for Staff July 1, 1996 have a higher accrual rate than other employees.
References:
