Office of the President

Faculty and Staff Appreciation Guidance

October 24, 2019

Issued: October 24, 2019

Purpose of this Guidance

To establish and maintain consistent and equitable standards in the expenditure of funds for employee appreciation.

 

Financial Accounting Assertions

 

1 Colleges/VP units can spend up to $75 per employee per calendar year on employee appreciation and holiday events.

2 Leaders have discretion regarding how money is distributed throughout their area.

Attention should be paid to the same employees attending multiple appreciation or holiday events and/or any real or perceived inequity amongst employees (e.g., staff or faculty are recognized with an on-campus reception while leaders have dinner at an off-site restaurant).

3 Partners, spouses, guests, etc. of employees can be included in events (e.g., holiday dinner for couples, picnic for families) but the overall budget does not change.

  • See the Expenditures policy.
  • Units can count only university employees in the annual allowable budget for these events.
  • Guest expenses must be drawn from this budget as well.

4 Included in the $75 per employee annual limit are:

  • Beverages
  • Decorations
  • Entertainment/musicians/etc.
  • Food
  • Games (rentals, pop-ups, etc.)
  • Gifts of any kind (including gift cards)
  • Giveaways

5 Not included in the $75 annual limit are:

  • Chair rental
  • Space rental
  • Table and linen rental
  • Other items needed for the setup of an event

6 All applicable tax rules must be followed if giving gifts to employees.

See the Expenditures and University-provided Clothing and Uniforms policies.

7 University requirements regarding the use of alcohol at events for faculty and staff must be followed.

See the Expenditures policy.

8 For rewards:

See the Reward and Recognition policy.

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