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Rehire & Transfer Guidance

To administer the Northwestern Retirement Savings Plan in a manner consistent with common practices and IRS expectations, occasionally a minimum break in service of 31-days is required.  This practice is to ensure the employee has a “bona fide” termination from employment which is a termination in which there is no expectation of employment following the end of benefits eligible employment.

• Applies only to University rehires from one Benefits-Eligible position to another Benefits-Eligible position:
  • Staff scheduled to work at least 18.75 hours per week and appointed on at least a half-time (50%) basis
  • Faculty appointment that is full-time for 6 months or at least half-time for 1 year

• Does not apply to transfers between Benefits-Eligible positions – i.e., a start date that immediately follows the end date of the prior position (no gap in employment)
• Does not apply to non-benefit eligible or temporary workers moving into Benefits-Eligible positions or non-benefit eligible or temporary employees moving to other non-benefit eligible roles

 Please follow one of these two options when rehiring from another Northwestern department:

•  If the employee is transferring between Benefits-Eligible positions at Northwestern, and is transferring to your area, it is your responsibility to coordinate your department’s start date with the current department to ensure the employee’s record has all days accounted for in myHR
  • E.g., if a staff member’s old job ends Saturday, October 2, their new job should begin in your department on Sunday, October 3 (the payroll system will not overpay the employee, as weekends aren’t paid unless hours are recorded in Kronos)
  • For hires made via a job posting and competitive process, Talent Acquisition will assist in coordinating the termination/rehire dates 

• If you are rehiring an employee into another Benefits-Eligible position that is not an immediate transfer, it is your responsibility to set their rehire date a full 31 calendar days from the end date of their prior position
  • E.g., if a staff member’s last day is Tuesday, August 31 in a Benefits-Eligible role at the University, they may not start a new Benefits-Eligible position until on or after Saturday,  October 2

How do I determine if my employee’s move requires a 31-day break? Consider these questions:

•  Is this a rehire between two Benefits-Eligible positions?
•  What are the University and employee expectations of continuing work immediately following their last day of employment in the current job; i.e., is there no gap in employment?

 If a Benefits-Eligible employee is beginning another Benefits-Eligible job at Northwestern immediately upon leaving their current job – the employee is continuing employment, this is a transfer or promotion

• Consecutive start/end dates must be coordinated between departments

 If a Benefits-Eligible employee does not have another Benefits-Eligible job that begins immediately – the employee is terminating

• Once terminated, a rehire must have a 31-day break in service before starting another Benefits-Eligible position

Why is it important to coordinate the dates to use for continuing employment (transfer/promotion)?

• HR Operations is unable to process any transfers and promotions that have non-consecutive dates of employment (gaps) between the two Benefits-Eligible positions

 What does “consecutive dates” mean?

• The last day of the current position and the first day of the new position must be consecutive calendar days (even if the first or last day of one of the positions falls on a weekend day).
  • For example, July 1 would be the last day of the prior job, and July 2 would be the first day of the new job.

Which department is responsible for the rehire details?

• The new department is responsible for coordinating with the old department to confirm the following:
  • The employee’s job dates are continuous; that is, the start date of the new position is the next calendar day after the end date of the current position.
  • Which department(s) will pay for any time off, if requested? That is, which department will “own” the employee record during the employee’s time off?

Summary Table

Background and details

 Termination of employment may result in access to retirement benefits, including the University’s retirement plans. When an employee leaves one position and is subsequently rehired too soon into a new position, the IRS may consider this a “sham” termination that was done for the purpose of receiving access to retirement benefits.

The following sections of the Staff Handbook provide additional information related to rehire and reinstatement:

 Staff Handbook: Reinstatement, Rehire & Eligibility for Rehire