1. PURPOSE
To outline the policies, rules, and procedures under which employees are compensated because of referring other employees hired into the organization.
2. SCOPE
All actively employed, eligible, employees may participate in the Employee Referral Program and receive a referral rewards payment if a qualified applicant is hired. Department managers, executive leadership, human resources, and those with recruiting and/or staffing responsibilities are excluded from participation. Additional eligibility and qualification rules are outlined in section 4 below.
3. RESPONSIBILITIES
A. The HR Department has primary responsibility for maintaining and updating the policies, and procedures that govern the Employee Referral Rewards Program in collaboration with the leadership team(s). Monitoring payment deadlines by employee and remittance of bonus payments in accordance with normal payroll processing procedures.
B. In collaboration with the HR Department, the Marketing Director, or delegate, has responsibility for creating marketing and communications to advertise the Employee Referral Rewards Program to all employees.
C. Employees are responsible for ensuring the Referral Reward Form is completed and remitted to the HR Department to be qualified for the bonus payment.
4. POLICY
A. Referral Reward Payments
i. Eligible employees could earn referral rewards if a qualified applicant referred by them is hired.
ii. Referral Rewards are earned and paid to the referring employee as outlined below.
1. $100 upon completion of the referred employees ninety (90) days (three months) of employment.
2. $400 upon completion of the referred employees one-hundred eighty days (180) days (six months) of employment.
iii. Payments will be remitted on the pay cycle for the pay period in which the anniversary is met.
iv. Referral Rewards will be processed through payroll in accordance with normal payroll processing procedures and subject to all federal, state, local and other mandated withholdings at the federal established rate for bonus income.
v. Payment will be made to the referring employee only if the employee hired identifies the individual who made the referral to avoid any situations where more than one employee claims to have referred the hired employee.
B. QUALIFIED CANDIDATES
i. Employees may not refer candidates who were previously employed by Sterling, contracted through a staffing agency, or who have previously applied for open positions within the organization.
ii. Candidates who meet the essential requirements and qualifications of the position as outlined in the job description will be considered for the position.
iii. Candidates will be interviewed, evaluated, and screened in accordance with all company preu0002-employment processes prior to hire.
iv. Employees making the referral may not participate in any interviewing, prescreening process, or have any involvement in the decision of whether to hire, or not hire the referred candidate.
v. All preemployment processes and decisions whether to hire or not hire a referred candidate will be held in strict confidence in accordance with federal and state privacy laws.
vi. Referred candidates may decline an offer of employment which will also remain confidential.
vii. Candidates must be authorized to work within the United States as a condition of employment.
C. ELIGIBILITY
i. To be eligible for referral rewards, employees must be actively employed at the time of payment remittance. Employees that are separated from Sterling, on either a voluntary or involuntary basis, waive rights to collect referral rewards.
ii. The referring employee must complete the Referral Rewards Form and turn it into the human resources recruiting department before the candidate remits an application in response to a posted advertisement. Deadline for submitting the Referral Rewards Form is the hire date of the referral.
iii. Managers responsible for staffing their departments are ineligible for referral rewards within their department. Executive leadership, human resources, and those with express responsibilities for recruiting and staffing are excluded from participation.
D. GOVERNING PRINCIPLES
i. Questions, concerns, disputes arising out of this policy, or the procedure should be directed to the Human Resources Department.
ii. Sterling reserves the right to revise, or terminate, the Employee Referral Rewards Policy and payments at any time, for any reason, without advance notification to employees.
5. Human Resources Referral Reward Processing procedure
A. Human Resources will collect the Referral Reward Form from the employee and confirm with the hired candidate whether they were referred by the employee.
i. Upon confirmation that the candidate was referred by the employee, Human Resources will email the Referral Reward Form to the Payroll Manager and save a copy of the form in the referring employees’ Confidential folder.
1. The Payroll Manager will confirm the pay date for the corresponding anniversaries and enter
the information on the Weekly Payroll Notes spreadsheet for the correct pay week.
2. Prior to entering the amounts to be paid into the payroll system, the Payroll Manager will confirm that both the referring employee and the referred employee are actively employed for the durations required.
ii. If the candidate denies the employee referred them to the position, Human Resources will notify the employee they will not qualify for the referral reward