SES Desk Guide December 2020 4-25
APBC
Rating-Based Pay Adjustment(s) + Rating-
Based Award
SEPARATE
Rating-Based Pay Adjustment(s)
and Rating-Based Award, separately
• All senior employees rated Level 5 receive a
combination (i.e., sum) of rating-based pay
adjustment(s) and a rating-based award that
is more than any senior employee rated at
Level 4;
• All senior employees rated Level 4 receive a
combination of rating-based pay
adjustment(s) and a rating-based award that
is more than any senior employee rated at
Level 3; and
o If any senior employee is rated at
Level 3, then all employees at Level
4 must receive a higher combination
than all individuals at Level 3.
Senior employees rated below Level 3 are
ineligible for rating-based pay adjustments or
rating-based awards and are not included in the
pay differentiation review.
• All senior employees rated Level 5
receive rating-based pay adjustment(s)
and a rating-based award, separately,
that are more than that distributed to
those senior employees rated at Level
4; and
• All senior employees rated Level 4
receive rating-based pay adjustment(s)
and a rating-based award, separately,
that is more than that distributed to any
senior employee rated at Level 3.
o If any senior employee is rated
at Level 3, then all employees at
Level 4 must receive a higher
rating-based pay adjustment(s)
and a rating-based award,
separately than all individuals at
Level 3.
Senior employees rated below Level 3 are
ineligible for rating-based pay adjustments
or rating-based awards and are not
included in the pay differentiation review.
• No overlap of amounts distributed across
rating levels (e.g., a Level 4 and a Level 3
cannot both receive APBC of $0 or 0%).
• May demonstrate pay differentiation using $
amounts or %; however, agencies must use
the same approach for both rating-based pay
adjustments and rating-based awards.
• All senior employees rated at or above Level
3 are assessed for pay differentiation,
including those with a salary at the pay/tier
cap.
o Since employees at a pay/tier cap may
still receive a rating-based award,
these individuals are not excluded
from the review of the agency’s pay
differentiation under APBC.
• No overlap of rating-based pay
adjustment(s) or rating-based award
amounts distributed across rating
levels.
• May demonstrate differentiation in $
amounts or %, separately, in rating-
based pay adjustments and rating-based
awards.
• Senior employees with a salary at the
pay/tier cap are not assessed for pay
differentiation in the rating-based pay
adjustment(s) review; however, they
are assessed in the rating-based award
review.