Before paying relocation incentives under this subpart, an agency must establish a relocation incentive plan. This plan must include the following elements:

The designation of officials with authority to review and approve payment of relocation incentives (subject to paragraph (b) of this section) and the designation of officials with authority to waive the repayment of a relocation incentive under § 575.211(h);

The categories of employees who are prohibited from receiving relocation incentives;

Required documentation for determining that a position (or group of positions) is likely to be difficult to fill;

Any requirements for determining the amount of a relocation incentive;

The payment methods that may be authorized;

Requirements governing service agreements which, at a minimum, must include—

The criteria for determining the length of a service period under a service agreement;

The conditions for terminating a service agreement; and

The obligations of the agency and the employee, as applicable, if an agency terminates a service agreement; and

Documentation and recordkeeping requirements sufficient to allow reconstruction of the action and fulfill the requirements of §§ 575.212 and 575.213.

Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, an authorized agency official who is at least one level higher than the employee's supervisor must review and approve each determination to pay a relocation incentive, unless there is no official at a higher level in the agency. The authorized agency official must review and approve the relocation incentive determination before the agency pays the incentive to the employee.

The higher level approval required by paragraph (b)(1) of this section is not needed when approving coverage of individual employees under a previously approved relocation incentive authorization if the case-by-case approval requirement is waived under § 575.208(b).

Unless the head of the agency determines otherwise, an agency relocation incentive plan must apply uniformly across the agency.