Salaried Appointments:
If you are receiving a salary, you will receive
your paycheck BIWEEKLY EVERY OTHER WEDNESDAY. Your pay
statement can be
viewed at the human resources (HR) website http://hrss.umn.edu/.
Direct deposit enrollment is available at the same site and we
would
like to encourage you to sign-up. You will need your Internet
ID and
password. Other options at the HR website include handling of
IRS W2 and
W4 forms. If you have questions, see the help at the website or
call the
HRMS/Payroll Call Center at 612-625-2016.
Health Insurance: Salaried employees, such as postdocs,
will be able to select their
health insurance plan after their start date. Please make sure
to
complete your on-line benefit enrollment with in 60 days from
your
employment date. Benefit enrollment can be done by visiting
the Human
Resources (HR) website at http://hrss.umn.edu. Your Internet
ID and
Password will be needed. If you have any questions concerning
coverage,
please call the Employees Benefits Department directly at
4-9090, option 2.
Time Away: Please familiarize yourselves
with the IMA policies on Vacation, Sick Leave, and Travel for
IMA Postdocs.
IMA Postdocs are expected to be present at the IMA all weekdays
during their term of appointment except official University
holidays, vacation days, sick days, and on days of approved
professional travel. Vacation and travel should be timed so
that it does not conflict with IMA workshops or other annual
program events. Shortening the term of your appointment at the
IMA should only be considered in exceptional cases. If you have
one of these, please discuss your early departure with
Markus Keel, Deputy Director of the IMA.
Postdocs accrue vacation days at the
rate of two days per month following each of the first eleven
months of service during the year, for a total of 22 days per
year. Vacation days can only
be taken within the term of the initial appointment and
University policy requires that you work the last day of your
appointment; it cannot be a vacation day.
Vacations and personal time off should be
reported by
first sending an email to as soon
as the time off is planned. A "Faculty/P&A Vacation Leave
Report"
form should be filled out and submitted to the IMA Accounting
Office, after returning to the IMA.
This form is available on-line at
http://www1.umn.edu/ohr/
(navigate to 'OHR Quick
Links', click
on 'Forms' and search for Form 1704).
While there is no formal medical leave for postdocs, up to two
weeks of sick leave per incident is generally approved
informally at the discretion of the postdoc's supervisor.
Travel away from the IMA for professional reasons (e.g.
research visits,
interviews) must be approved by the directors and as mentioned
above
should not conflict with IMA workshops or annual events.
Please email or contact Markus Keel, Deputy Director of the IMA. Professional
travel can be very valuable to career development, and the IMA
has set aside a travel budget for each
postdoc to use. The amount given can be found in the
appointment offer letter.
Travel funds not spent in the first year of the
appointment for a postdoc continue to be available in the
second year.
Expenditures from the travel fund must be approved
in advance by the directors. If you are not a US national and
your travel involves any funding from sources other than the
IMA, you need to discuss this with the IMA staff at least two
weeks prior to departure. If you are on a J or H Visa and
requiring expenses, you need a letter from the IMA Director
stating his approval. Then the International Office needs to
write a letter of approval, all which can take up to two weeks.
In general, travel fund requests will be approved or not (and
days categorized as vacation or professional travel) based on
the extent to which the directors believe that the proposed
trip will in fact aid a postdoc's research and career
development. Some examples of possible travel requests are
trips for research collaborations, preferably with established
researchers other than the former graduate advisor, and trips
to conferences, preferably to deliver a talk by invitation.
Travel to job interviews is generally acceptable as
professional travel, but not funded by the IMA.
If you have any questions about these policies, please discuss
it with Markus
Keel, Deputy Director of the IMA. Our
goal is the optimum career development of the IMA postdocs.
