Waiver of recruitment

University of California Personnel Policy requires open recruitment for career and contract positions. The Chief Human Resources Officer may grant exceptions to the recruitment policy in special circumstances on a case-by-case basis by authorizing a waiver of recruitment in accordance with Personnel Policy 20.

Recruitment waiver criteria

Waivers are granted when:

  • Business Necessity/Uniquely Qualified
    A University career employee is available whose unique knowledge, skills and/or abilities are critical to the department's function and whose qualifications are not readily available in the market.
  • Past Recruitment Difficulty
    A Division or Department shows evidence of past recruitment difficulty, and explains the qualifications of the recommended candidate.
  • Prior Limited or Contract Appointment Recruitment
    A Division or Department decides to transfer a Limited or Contract employee into a career position at the same classification, and they show evidence of a prior open recruitment for the Limited or Contract position where the employee was an applicant.
  • Completion of Development Training Program
    Division or Department shows evidence that the candidate has completed a University-sponsored training program for development to that position.

Approval process

  • A Position Description is created in the Job Builder and approved through Position Control in Service Now.
  • The request is made on a Waiver of Recruitment(doc) form, and the "basis for the request" must provide the details for the unusual or special nature of the situation. The department attaches a copy of the approved Position Description from the Job Builder, a current organization chart that shows how the position interfaces structurally, and the resume of the candidate.
  • The department’s HRBP creates a posting in TAM, navigates to the Activity and Attachments tab and indicates that the posting is for a Waiver in the Notes section, attaches a copy of the (unapproved) waiver request form, and obtains approval of the posting.
  • The Waiver request form needs to be approved by the Department Head and submitted in hard copy to the Manager-Employment & Staffing Services. The Manager reviews the request for conformance with employment policy, considers any eligible layoff candidates, and submits it to the UCOP Affirmative Action Officer.
  • The UCOP Affirmative Action Officer considers the request for conformance with equal opportunity and affirmative action objectives and submits it to the Chief Human Resources Officer for final approval.
  • The Manager-Employment & Staffing Services contacts the hiring manager when the Chief Human Resources Officer approves the waiver. The posting is approved for non-recruitment in TAM, and the comments and approval of both the Affirmative Action Officer and the chief Human Resources Officer are noted in TAM.

This process normally takes at least a week to complete. The effective date of hire is usually the date the waiver is approved. An informal or formal offer of employment may not be made prior to the review and approval of a waiver request.