HR0630 – Employee Relations Advisory Organization

Employee Advisory Groups

SECTION 1. Objective

To provide bidirectional communications channels between regular staff employees and university officials for information and advisory purposes by soliciting and disseminating information concerning plans and programs affecting regular staff university employees.

Policy:

1. Each campus and institute shall develop an employee advisory group consistent with the organizational structure outlined below, modifying the structure to the extent necessary for effective implementation.

Campus/Institute Employee Advisory Group

2. A council may be formed in each unit to serve as an advisory body to the chancellor, vice president, or chief administrator with respect to human resources policies, programs, and practices and to assist in the review of grievance appeals. The council may consist of:
   1. the senior administrator (chancellor, vice president, chief administrator, or designee) – chair
   2. a representative from human resources – secretary
   3. the chief business officer or designee
   4. an elected employee representative from each unit, geographical location, and/or job group. An employee must have at least one year of continuous service credit with the university to be eligible for election. It is important that the representative is easily accessible to the represented employees and that one person represents no more than 50-75 employees.

Employee Advisory Board

3. An Employee Advisory Board will be established at the university-wide administration level to serve as an advisory group to the president concerning human resources policies, programs, and practices. This board will consist of:
   1. the president or designee – chair
   2. the university chief human resources officer or designee – secretary
   3. a board member from each campus or unit council or committee chosen by the elected council or committee members. The council or committee may decide to elect the board representative for one or two years. Board members should be elected before February 1 of each election year, and the secretary should be informed of the term length of each board member.

SECTION 2. Reason for the Policy

To provide bidirectional communications channels between regular staff employees and university officials for information and advisory purposes by soliciting and disseminating information concerning plans and programs affecting regular staff university employees.

SECTION 3. Scope and Application

This policy applies to regular University staff employees.

SECTION 4. Procedures

To view links to campus policies and procedures, click here: Procedures – UT System Policies (tennessee.edu)

SECTION 5. Definitions

N/A

SECTION 6. Penalties/Disciplinary Action for Non-Compliance

N/A

SECTION 7. Responsible Official & Additional Contacts

Responsible officials and contacts may have responsibilities that include monitoring compliance with the policy, ensuring the accuracy of policy subject matter, organizing policy training, and updating the policy. Employees are responsible for applying to the university, enrolling in classes, and completing the waiver and taxation forms.

[Knoxville]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(865) 974-6642	hr@utk.edu Home

[Chattanooga]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and	Human Resources	(423) 425-4221	utchumanresources@utc.edu
Interpretation
			Human Resources |
			University of Tennessee at
			Chattanooga (utc.edu)

[Southern]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(931-424-7379	jhlubb@utsouthern.edu

[Martin]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(731) 881-7850	Mwashin24@utm.edu Human Resources | UT Martin

[Institute for Public Service]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(865) 974-1535	sytemhr@tennessee.edu Human Resources

[System Administration]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(865) 974-8170	sytemhr@tennessee.edu Human Resources

[UTHSC]

Subject Matter	Office Name	Telephone Number	Email/Web Address
Policy Clarification and Interpretation	Human Resources	(901) 448-5600	hr@uthsc.edu Human Resources | UTHSC

SECTION 8. Policy History

Original Policy – 4/1/1977 Revision 1 – 1/1/1979 Revision 2 – 7/1/1986 Revision 3 – 8/1/1995 Revision 4 – 7/1/1998 Revision 5 – 3/18/2020

SECTION 9. Related Policies/Guidance Documents

N/A