Total Compensation

At Dalhousie, Total Compensation covers Benefits, Pension, and Data and Systems Management. The team works to support the Dalhousie community and help deliver on some of the core features of the university’s commitment to its people.

Salary

Collective agreements: Most of Dalhousie's salary levels and scales are established through collective bargaining with its employee groups, and outlined in collective agreements. (exception: Dalhousie Professional and Managerial Group, DPMG, which is non-unionized) Visit Labour Relations for more details about each collective agreement.

December holiday break: The time between the statutory holidays of Christmas and New Year’s is granted to employees as days off separate from their standard vacation allotment. 

Benefits

The terms of Dalhousie's group benefits packages are considered through the Dalhousie University Employee Benefits Committee. The committee considers all matters relating to benefit programs for faculty and staff, and works together to bring forward common changes. Visit Benefits for each employee group's benefit package and details.

Pension

Dalhousie's defined benefit plan means the amount employees receive after retirement is determined by a set formula, rather than being directly related amount of contributions they make or the return on investment that is achieved. At Dalhousie, this formula is two percent multiplied by (a) the number of years of service in the pension plan and (b) the average of the employees' three best earning years. For example, if an employee’s best three years of salary averaged $50,000, and they were in the pension plan for 25 years, they would receive $25,000 annually.

Visit the Pension Plan for more details.