Payroll and Benefits Office - How can we help you today?

• Payroll Questions
• Time-off and Leave Inquiries
• Health, Dental and Vision Insurance
• Voluntary Deductions
• VRS - MissonSquare Retirement Information
• 403B and 457B Accounts
• Life Insurance
• Child Support and Garnishments
• Hybrid Short-term Disability

Employee Self Service (ESS)

• Request leave
• Enter additional time worked
• Update your address, telephone number, tax withholding or direct deposit information

ESS log-in and forgotten password guide

Changing personal information - name, address, phone number, email, emergency contacts, ethnicity and race

Direct Deposit - how to set-up or change acccount

W-4 and VA-4 tax withholding set-up

Selecting W-2 Delivery Method- Step by Step Instructions

Viewing your detailed pay statements

 Paydays

Policy and Regs –  4704, 4704R

All employees are paid monthly. Personnel who begin employment after the 15th of the month will have a one and one-half month lag before receiving their first paycheck.

 1.  Contracted employees who begin working on the first day of the contract year will receive one-twelfth of their annual salary on a regular monthly basis.
      Employees on a 10- or 11-month contract will receive their first installment on September 1st.
      Employees on a 12-month contract will receive their first installment on August 1st.

  2. Contracted employees who begin working after the first day of the contract year will receive a pro-rated salary which is based on their daily rate and the number of days remaining in the contract year.  That    prorated amount will be divided evenly over the number of pay periods remaining in the contract year.

If a person terminates employment before completing the contract period, their final pay will be prorated on a per diem basis.

Employees are given access to leave balances at the beginning of their contract.  If an employee resigns / retires prior to completing their contract period, leave days are pro-rated based on the number of months they worked.  Employees leaving the school division may request, in writing, to be paid for their remaining sick and personal leave days if they have been in a contracted position for a minimum of 5 years immediately prior to their resignation / retirement.  The pay rate for remaining sick and personal days is $35/day for full-time employees and $17.50/day for part-time employees.  Vacation leave is automatically paid out for 12-month staff at their daily rate.

Direct Deposit

Policy and Regs – 5108, 5108R

Direct deposit for payroll checks is a condition of employment with Stafford County Public Schools. Payroll deposits will be made monthly to one bank account, either checking or savings, as specified by the employee.

It is the responsibility of each employee to review their monthly pay statements and notify the payroll office of errors in pay or deductions within five (5) business days upon receipt of the monthly direct deposit. 

Work Days/Hours of Employment

Policy and Regs – 4203, 4203R

A full time employee is defined as an individual who is contracted to work at least 37.5* hours/week.  The total number of weekly work hours is designated by the position and job title. (Special categories for designated transportation and school nutrition employees are considered full-time with at least 32.5 hours / week.)

A part-time employee is defined as an individual who is contracted to work less than 37.5* hours/week but greater than 18.75 hours/week. 

Employees shall observe and report to work consistent with the schedule of working days set forth in the work calendar developed annually by the superintendent / designee. The work calendars can be found on Employee Self Service (ESS) under the Pay/Tax Link - Payroll Calendars.  Select your contract type from the drop-down menu at the top of the Calendars page to find work days, holidays and professional days.

Each month, leave and additional off-contract work hours are tracked and paid from the 11th of the previous month through the 10th of the current month.  Example: May 1 paycheck includes leave and additional hours worked between the 11th of March through the 10th of April. 

Overtime and Compensatory Time Off

Policy - 4404

Eligible employees are defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1933 (FLSA) as non-exempt employees.

• The work period for determining overtime compensation is based on a regular work week (Saturday 12 midnight through 11:59 pm on the following Saturday).
• Overtime hours are defined as those hours actually worked (excluding a duty free meal break) which exceed 40 hours during a seven day work week.
• All non-exempt service employees are required to record the number of hours worked per day (including overtime/compensatory time) on time cards or time sheets.
• Employees must receive prior approval from their supervisor to perform overtime work.
• Overtime compensation at the time and a half rate will be based on hours actually worked. Examples of non-working hours which would be excluded from overtime computation include: vacation leave, sick leave, jury/witness leave, holiday leave, and suspension.
• Overtime of less than one quarter hour on a regular work day will not be compensated. Overtime work of over one quarter of an hour will be compensated to the nearest half hour.
• Employees may not accrue more than 40 hours of compensatory time.
• Accumulated compensatory time will be paid at the end of each fiscal year.

Payroll Processing Deadlines

• All employee leave entries and additional time entries are due no later than the 10th of each month for processing on that month’s payroll. Leave must be correctly entered through the Munis ESS portal and approved by your supervisor prior to the deadline.
• All payroll deduction changes and direct deposit change requests must be submitted via Employee Self Service (ESS) or to the Payroll and Benefits Department no later than the 15th of each month for processing on that month’s payroll.