Employee Referral Program Policy

Policy Objective: 

The objective of the Employee Referral Policy is to encourage and reward employees for referring qualified candidates to join our organization. This program aims to leverage the existing networks of our employees to identify top talent that aligns with our company’s values and culture. We encourage eligible employees to review our open positions and consider your social and external networks as potential resources for referred candidates. 

Eligibility: 

All current full-time and part-time employees are eligible to participate in the Employee Referral Program, except for members of the senior management and managers with hiring authority over the referred candidates. Temporary and contract employees are not eligible for participation. 

Note that hiring managers can’t refer anyone for a position for which they are directly or indirectly responsible. The hiring manager can refer someone for a position that’s in a different department, office or function. This exception doesn’t apply to executives and senior management. 

Referral Process: 

  1. Employees participating in this program are responsible for obtaining consent from the referred candidates before submitting their referrals. 

  2. Employees should submit their referrals through the ADP online application system. The referral should include the candidate’s full name, contact information, resume, and other relevant information. Referrals that are submitted without complete information may not be considered. 

  3. Referred candidates MUST indicate who referred them and input that employee’s full name in the ADP online application system. 

  4. Employees should not refer candidates who do not meet the minimum qualifications for the open position or who are not interested in being considered for employment with the company. 

  5. Participants in this program are expected to maintain confidentiality regarding any information they receive about referred candidates, including personal details. Sharing such information with unauthorized parties is strictly prohibited. 

Eligible Referrals: 

  1. Who can be referred: 

    a. External candidates who are not currently employed by CAO of WNY 

    b. Candidates who have not applied to our company for at least one year 

  2. Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications for the position and eligible to work in the United States 

  3. Candidates must be hired in a permanent full or part-time position. 

  4. If two or more employees refer the same candidate, only the first employee who referred the candidate is eligible for the referral rewards. 

Reward Structure: 

  1. If the candidate is hired and all provisions of the policy have been met, the employee who referred the candidate will be eligible for a referral bonus. 

  2. A $250.00 reward will be paid to the referring employee at the time the candidate is hired. 

  3. An additional $250.00 reward will be paid to the referring employee after the six-month probationary period has been met by the candidate if:

    a. the candidate is still actively working at CAO of WNY 

    b. the candidate has not received any verbal or written warnings 

    c. the candidate is not on a performance improvement plan 

    d. the candidate received no other disciplinary action during the probationary period 

  4. If we hire your referred candidate in a hard-to-fill role as determined by Senior Management, you may be eligible for a higher reward of $500.00 at the time of hire and an additional reward of $500.00 after the six-month probationary period has been met and the candidate meets items listed in #3 above. 

  5. Referral rewards will be paid out within a month of the date we hired a candidate. 

  6. There is no cap on the number of referrals an employee can make. All rewards will be paid accordingly. 

  7. Referrers are still eligible for rewards even if a candidate is hired at a later time or gets hired for another position as long as all processes of this policy have been met. 

  8. All rewards paid out under this policy are subject to taxation. 

Non-Discrimination Policy:

CAO of WNY, Inc. is committed to a fair and equitable referral program that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. All referrals will be evaluated based on qualifications and fit for the position.