Policies

• The Department Chair must approve funding prior to arranging to compensate a professional or contract their services.
• Because funding is limited, there is no guarantee of approval.
• Because the University is responsible to fulfill IRS requirements for year-end reporting of non-employee compensation, UT does not allow the department to reimburse faculty or staff for paid professional services; instead, we will need to pay the professional/s directly.
• If you fail to notify us until after the services have been performed, you will be required to submit an exception letter to the Dean’s office and the AVP of Purchasing for approval. There is no guarantee these exceptions will be approved, meaning that your business associates would be at risk of not being paid.

Procedures & Timelines

Before you make an agreement with anyone to perform services for which payment may be expected:

1. Fill out the Compensating Professionals Request Form:
   • at least 30 days prior to the visit/service
   • At least 45 days in advance for International Non-employees.
2. If the event is approved, the RTF Accounting team will follow up with directions for you to notify the event speaker about what is needed for compensation, and then they will follow up with the professional in order to process the payment.

Policies

• Enrolled students (even working part-time) need to be hired through Workday as university employees (as opposed to as contractors).
• Submit the request form at least 30 days prior to the service (at least 60 days in advance for International students).
• There will be limits on how many hours students can work. See UT guidelines on student employment, which also cover minimum eligibility requirements and standard appointment dates.
• Students must have an appointment BEFORE they can start working.
• Be aware that there may be additional costs associated with hiring a student: wages, fringe benefits, and background checks (which will need to be requested by staff at least three weeks in advance of start date–see procedures below).
• Graduate Student Employment Rules - 
  • Employment rules for graduate students can be complicated. Please consult with Teresa Warner before making any decisions regarding graduate student employment.
  • Also see: Best Practices for Working with Graduate Students with Dependents.
• See UT Policies on Work Study

Procedures & Timelines

At least 5-6 weeks before the Start of Work:

• If you are trying to find a student for a job, you can submit a description of the job to Handshake. Email RTF-Accounting@austin.utexas.edu for details. Allow time for interviewing candidates.

At least 4 weeks before the Start of Work:

• Once you know you know whom you’re hiring, fill out the Hiring/Compensating Students Request Form at least 30 days in advance of the start of work (even earlier if they are international students) in order to allow time for staff to the set up the Workday appointment—for tasks such as performing background checks, onboarding, filling out I-9s, etc. (Note that background checks may take longer for internatational students and students who have moved across multiple states.)

During Work:

• Supervisors need to track the student’s work and approve Workday timesheets. Semi-monthly payroll periods are completed on the 15^th and end of every month. See semimonthly schedule and deadlines.