A 'Change of Funding' form is required whenever the funding source(s) for a PDF changes either in whole or in part. Please use the Appointment Form and tick 'Funding Change Only' at the top of the document.

The process for funding changes, encumbering of project funds and monitoring of available funds is currently under development and will be made available shortly. 

Submit completed forms to postdoc2@sfu.ca. Please allow time for processing.

**UPDATE: Effective June 2023 the estimated cost is 16.9%. Please direct questions regarding this process to ors@sfu.ca**

With the revision of Postdoctoral Fellowship Policy R50.03 effective June 28, 2019, most PDFs have become employees of SFU. Those PDFs are now entitled to non‐discretionary benefits which increases the employer costs to grants from approximately 10% to 14%.  

Recognizing the increase in employer cost of benefits may create financial hardships for grantees who had not budgeted for these additional expenses, the University has established the PDF Benefits Reimbursement program. This reimbursement program will be in place for 5 years from policy implementation.

Who May Make a Claim for PDF Benefit Reimbursement?

If the grant is unable to cover the cost of extended health benefits, the grantee whose research project application date occurred prior to September 1, 2019 and has PDFs incurring non‐discretionary benefit costs are eligible to receive reimbursement for the cost of additional benefits premiums paid over 10% to a maximum of 4%.

Not Eligible:

• All grant applications submitted after September 1, 2019 are to include the increased cost of benefits within their proposed budgets and are therefore not eligible to apply to this program
• Benefit costs incurred prior to the policy effective date of June 28, 2019

Claim Process:

• Department to complete one Claim Form for PDF Benefit Reimbursement per PDF 
• Department to complete a Journal Voucher (JV) that credits the project(s) from which the PDF was paid (leave the debit line blank for Research Services to complete)
• Department to attach a Department Assistance (DA) Query Report ‐ Employee by Pay Period showing the salary and benefits paid during the claim period. For more information, please see PDF Benefit Reimbursement Procedures – DA Employee by Pay Period 
• Department to forward all documentation to ors@sfu.ca for processing
• Research Services to review and complete the debit side of JV and then forward for processing
• Reimbursements will be posted to the project that incurred the original expense

When to Submit:

For continuing grants, Research Services will accept claims for PDF Benefit Reimbursements during two annual intakes:

• August 15th through 31^st
• February 15th through March 1^st

To help ensure financial year‐end reporting is not disrupted, when submitting February claims, please include an estimate of costs that are expected to be incurred up until March 31.

In addition to the above two intakes, Research Services will accept claims for PDF Benefit Reimbursement any time it is required for final reimbursement for the project.

When submitting a final reimbursement outside of the two noted intakes, please identify by selecting the check box at the top of the claim form.

Incremental Benefit Claim Reimbursement 

As part of SFU's commitment to improving the postdoc experience a new improved benefit plan offering for extended health and dental benefit coverage has been established. This will take effect June 1, 2023, and will be available to all the post docs currently enrolled in the benefit plan. 

These improvements will result in less than a 0.88% increase to the annual cost of total compensation for PDFs. The total estimated percentage of benefits (including employer statutory contributions, extended health and dental) will increase to 16.90%. To support the Principal Investigators (PI) with the increased cost that could not be budgeted into grant applications, funding will be available through the VPRI for the next 5 years to assist with the expense. 

Who may make a claim for incremental benefit reimbursement?

The PIs of Postdoctoral Fellows currently enrolled in the benefits plan are eligible to access this funding to cover the increased costs for the next 5 years. The claim must pertain to grant applications submitted prior to Sept 1, 2023. 

Not Eligible:

• If the increased cost in benefits (expense) is already absorbed by the PI through another research grant. In that case, the claim should not be made through this process for the same expense. 
• If the claim amount is below $50.

Claim Process: 

• Department to complete one Claim Form for Incremental Benefit Reimbursement per Postdoc. 
• Department to attach a Department Assistant (DA) Query Report ‐ Employee by Pay Period showing the salary and benefits paid during the claim period. For more information, please see Department Assistant (DA) Query Report Procedures.  
• Department to complete a Journal Voucher (JV) that credits the project(s) from which the Postdoc was paid (leave the debit line blank for VPRI Finance to complete). 
• Department to forward all documentation to ors@sfu.ca. 
• Reimbursements will be posted to the project that incurred the original expense.

When to Submit

Claims for Incremental Benefit Reimbursements will be accepted during one annual intake:

January 15th through 31st 

In addition to the above intake, claims for Incremental Benefit Reimbursements will be accepted a month in advance for final reimbursement for the project.

This section is intended to provide guidelines to supervisors, their designates, and timekeepers about recording time for Internal Postdoctoral Fellows (PDF) as well as outline some of the benefits of ensuring exception time is captured correctly.

Time tracking applies to Internal PDFs (employees) only.
Tracking of time is the responsibility of the employee’s direct supervisor or their designate.

This includes:

• vacation time
• statutory holidays
• unpaid time

Each department and/or Faculty may have internal processes for reporting, entering and reconciling time of the PDF.  It is recommended that you check with your departmental/faculty administrator.

Why Report Time

Employment Standards Act of BC requires employers to keep a record of hours worked by each employee.  At SFU we use our timesheets to record time.  The timesheet is then used to determine the paid time for each PDF.

By recording time correctly on the timesheet, we ensure that the employee is paid correctly.

At the end of the PDF appointment(s), any unused vacation will be paid out to the PDF on their final paycheck. Failure to accurately enter vacation time into the system as it is taken may result in an overpayment of vacation entitlement at the end of the PDFs appointment.

Click here for a list of timesheet codes, and click here for ESA information on statutory holidays.

BC’s Employment Standards Act (ESA) provides employers and employees with guidelines to ensure the consistent and legal application of employment practices. Refer to the ESA website and SFU’s policies and procedures for facts and procedural information.  Here is a direct link the Employment Standards Act itself.