A. Travel expenses
A. Annual leave
A. Commutation of accrued annual leave
A. Health and life insurance
Staff in the Professional and higher categories are recruited internationally and are paid on the basis of salary scales applied worldwide and established by the General Assembly of the United Nations on the recommendation of ICSC. A common job classification system developed by ICSC provides the structure for this salary scale. The job classification standards consist of three tiers. The Master Standard (Tier I), which employs a point-factor system, is the most general of the three tiers. Six factors are taken into account when grading a job: professional knowledge, difficulty of work, independence of work, work relationships, supervisory responsibilities and impact of work. Tier I also provides a framework for job design and human resources planning. The second group (Tier II) consists of separate descriptive standards for major occupations. These narrative standards, giving examples of typical duties at each level, assist in indicating how the Master Standard should be applied in making meaningful distinctions between levels of work within an organization and in assigning proper grade levels to similar functions across organizations. Tier II standards have been established for the following occupational groups: Translators and Revisers; Personnel Management Specialists; Economists; Technical Cooperation Administrators; Computer Information Specialists; Purchasing and Contracting Specialists; Auditors; Civil Engineers; Public Information Specialists; Financial Management Specialists; Jurists; Editors, and Statisticians. The third group of standards (Tier III) is intended to cover jobs at a given grade level within one field of work in a single organization.
The salary of staff in the Professional and higher categories is made up of two main elements: a base or floor (minimum) salary and post adjustment, both expressed in United States dollars. Post adjustment is a cost-of-living adjustment designed to preserve equivalent purchasing power for all duty stations. The term "salary" or "net remuneration" as used in this guidlelines means base/floor salary plus the post adjustment applicable for a given location. (The term "net" is defined in section B below.)
The Professional and higher categories comprise five Professional grades (PA to P-5), two Director levels (D-1 and D-2) as well as the levels of Assistant Secretary-General and Under-Secretary-General in some organizations and Assistant Director-General and Deputy Director-General in others. The base salary scales for the Professional and higher categories are shown at www.un.org/Depts/icsc/sad/salary/index.htm. The scales, expressed as gross and net base salaries, are applied uniformly, worldwide, by all organizations in the common system. Although salaries are expressed in United States dollars, in most duty stations staff must accept part of their salary in local currency.
The base/floor salary is used to calculate the amounts of post adjustment/cost-of-living differential (see section D). For each 1 per cent cost-of-living differential indicated by the post adjustment index, 1 per cent of base/floor salary is added to the base salary. The base/floor salary scale represents the minimum, or floor remuneration payable, i.e., no deductions are made from it. This scale is also used to calculate the mobility and hardship allowance (see section II-B) and certain separation payments (see section IV-A).
Staff assessment. Staff assessment is a form of internal tax administered by the organizations. Staff assessment rates are derived from income tax rates applicable at the seven headquarters cities of the organizations in the common system (Geneva, London, Montreal, New York, Paris, Rome, and Vienna).
Base salary scales are expressed as gross amounts. By deducting staff assessment, at either the single or the dependent rate, a net salary is obtained. What the staff member receives is the net salary shown in the salary schedule.
Income taxes. Most Member States have granted United Nations staff exemption from national income taxation on their United Nations emoluments. However, a few Member States do tax the emoluments of their nationals. In such cases, the organizations reimburse the income tax to the staff member. Funding arrangements for these tax reimbursements vary from one organization to another.
Salary increments. Within-grade increments are awarded on the basis of satisfactory service. Most increments are granted annually, but there is a two-year qualifying period for the top step of level P-2, above step XIII of level P-3, above step XII of level P-4, above step X of level P5, above step IV of the D-1 level and for all steps at the D-2 level.
Language incentive. In some organizations, an increment may be granted at an accelerated rate of 10 or 20 months, respectively, to staff with an adequate and confirmed knowledge of a second official language of the organization.
The level of salaries for Professional staff is determined on the basis of the Noblemaire principle, named after the Chairman of a committee of the League of Nations. This principle states that the international civil service should be able to recruit staff from all its Member States, including the highest-paid. In application of the Noblemaire principle, the salaries of Professional staff are set by reference to the highest-paying national civil service. The Commission makes a periodic check to identify the national civil service of the Member State which has the highest pay levels and which by its size and structure lends itself to a significant comparison. The federal civil service of the United States of America has to date been taken as the highest paid national civil service. Periodic equivalency studies are made between the grades of jobs in the United Nations system and those in the comparator civil service. These studies establish equivalencies between each of the grades (P-1 to D-2) of the United Nations with each of the respective grades and categories of the comparator civil service. These grade equivalencies form the basis for comparison of remuneration paid in the two services at their respective bases (New York and Washington, D.C.). Net remuneration on the United Nations side (base salary plus applicable post adjustment) at New York for each grade P-1 to D-2 is compared to the salaries (net of income tax) of equivalently graded jobs in the comparator civil service in Washington, D. C. This comparison is expressed as an average ratio over a 12-month period and is known as the margin. A margin in favour of United Nations salaries is considered necessary to compensate for specific elements relating to expatriate service. An adjustment to account for the difference in cost of living between New York and Washington, D. C. is included in the calculation of the margin. The margin should remain within a range of 110 to 120, with a desirable mid-point of 115. Procedures are applied by the Commission to ensure that the margin is maintained within this range.
The post adjustment system is designed to ensure that Professional salaries have the same purchasing power at all duty stations. As the cost-of-living varies significantly between duty stations, Professional salaries are set at different levels at each duty station so as to compensate for these observed differences in living costs. Differences in living costs are measured through periodic place-to-place surveys conducted at all duty stations. The surveys measure the cost-of-living of a duty station relative to the cost-of-living at the base of the system (New York). The results are reflected in a post adjustment index for each duty station. Duty stations with higher costs of living than New York have higher post adjustment indices, and consequently, higher salaries, while those which are less expensive than New York have lower post adjustment indices and lower salaries than New York.
Post adjustment indices for duty stations, as determined by periodic place-to-place surveys conducted once every four or five years, are updated monthly to reflect changes due to inflation (local CPI) and exchange rate fluctuations (local currency vis-a-vis the U.S. dollar). These updated post adjustment indices provide the basis for establishing the post adjustment classifications which directly determine salary levels (base plus post adjustment). Post adjustment classifications specify the number of multiplier points of post adjustment which may be paid in addition to net base salary at any duty station. One multiplier point is equal to 1 per cent of base salary. Consequently, a multiplier of 10 results in a post adjustment payment equal to 10 per cent of base salary. This is paid in addition to the net base/floor salary. Arrangements for updating post adjustment classifications differ as between hard and soft currency duty stations. For hard-currency duty stations, a change in post adjustment to account for inflation is made after either a full 5 per cent movement of the post adjustment index or a 12-month period since the last change, whichever comes first. Exchange rate changes at these duty stations are reflected monthly in post adjustment classifications. For other (soft-currency) duty stations, the post adjustment classification is reviewed every four months for inflation and exchange rate changes.
ICSC now reviews annually the level of the base/floor salary scale which represents the minimum salary payable to staff at all duty stations. These reviews usually result in the General Assembly increasing the base/floor salary scale and consolidating a number of multiplier points of post adjustment into the base/floor salary scale. This process ensures that minimum United Nations salaries are updated to take account of changes in the pay level of the comparator civil service. However, a side effect of these increases in base/floor salary scales is that all post adjustment classifications and multipliers must be recalculated as the purpose of changes in the | METHOD | DUTY STATION A | DUTY STATION B | DUTY STATION C |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Base/floor salary | 51,992 | 51,992 | 51,992 |
| (b) Post adjustment per index point = 1% per cent of base salary | 519.92 | 519.92 | -- |
| (c) Post adjustment multiplier | 45 | 26 | -- |
| (d) Post adjustment (b) x (c) | 23,396 | 13,518 | -- |
| (e) Net remuneration = (a) + (d) | 75,388 | 65,510 | 51,992 |
The rental subsidy/deduction scheme, which is an integral part of the post adjustment system, was designed to ensure equal treatment of staff as regards housing costs.
The post adjustment index of a duty station includes a housing element calculated on the basis of average rents paid by international staff at the location. Experience has shown that newcomers tend to be faced with rents substantially higher than the average. Staff members who have been at the duty station for some time may be placed in the same position for reasons beyond their control if they are forced to change dwelling. On the other hand, staff are sometimes provided with housing by a host government, which can result in a rent considerably below the market average. In the above circumstances, a rental subsidy or a rental deduction are applicable; these are described below.
Rental subsidies. A subsidy may be paid when a staff member's rent exceeds a so-called threshold rental. At field duty stations the subsidy is 80 per cent of the excess of the staff member's actual rent over the rental threshold, in most cases up to a certain limit. The rental thresholds applicable at each duty station are approved and promulgated by the Chairman of ICSC. At headquarters duty stations, the subsidy starts at 80 per cent of the difference for the first four years, and is reduced to 60 per cent, 40 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, for the next three years, after which it is discontinued. Normally, subsidies do not exceed 40 per cent of the rent; however, in a few field duty stations where commercial rents are excessively high, this limit may be waived.
Rental subsidy applications are reviewed to ensure that the accommodation is of a reasonable standard in relation to established criteria. If the dwelling is larger or of a better quality than the norm for the duty station, the subsidy is calculated using that norm.
Overtime . Professional staff are not eligible to receive overtime payments. in some organizations occasional time off may be granted to staff who have been required to work substantial or recurrent periods in excess of the normal working hours.
Night differential. In some organizations night differential payments may be authorized for Professional staff who regularly work at night.
Staff members who assume for a substantial period of time the full range of duties and responsibilities of a post at a level clearly higher than their own may be granted an allowance which is normally temporary and non-pensionable and is most commonly called a "special post allowance" (SPA). The amount of the allowance is usually the difference between the current pay of the staff member and that which would be applicable on promotion to the higher grade.
Dependency benefits are provided in the form of higher net salaries and allowances for staff with dependants (dependency or "D" rate) than for those without dependants (single or "S" rate) and by flat-rate allowances for children and secondary dependants. There is no dependent spouse allowance for Professional staff.
A lower rate of staff assessment is applied to the gross salary of a staff member with a dependent spouse or child, resulting in a net base salary higher than that of a single staff member. Higher amounts of post adjustment (see D above) and a higher mobility and hardship allowance (see section 11-B) and assignment grant (see section 11-C) are also payable in such cases. Single/dependency rates also apply to separation payments (See section IV).
Children's allowances in the form of a flat amount per child are available to all eligible staff as a social benefit. The amount of the allowance is derived from an average of tax abatement and social security benefits in the seven headquarters duty stations. The allowance is expressed in United States dollars in some countries but in other (hard-currency) countries it is expressed in local currency.
To qualify as a dependant, a child must be under the age of 18, or, if in full-time attendance at a school or university, be under 21 years of age. Professional staff who have dependent children but no dependent spouse, qualify for the dependency rate of salary and allowances in respect of the first dependent child. In that case, the children's allowance is not paid for the first dependent child.
Where there is no recognized primary dependant, a secondary dependant's allowance may be payable for a dependent parent, brother or sister if evidence of support, based on established criteria, is provided. A staff member may not concurrently receive more than one secondary dependant's allowance.
An education grant is available to internationally recruited staff members serving outside their home country to cover a part of the cost of educating children in full-time attendance at an educational institution. The grant is payable up to the end of the fourth year of post-secondary studies or the award of a recognized first level degree, whichever is earlier, subject to a maximum age limit of 25 years. The amount of the grant is equivalent to 75 per cent of allowable costs.
At designated locations where educational facilities are inadequate, boarding costs for children at the primary or secondary level may be reimbursed at a rate of 100 per cent, up to a specified maximum amount, in addition to the standard maximum amount of education grant.
A staff member is entitled to travel expenses for the child for one return journey each academic year between the educational institution and the duty station, (provided that the educational institution is outside the country of the duty station). At designated duty stations where educational facilities are unavailable, an additional round trip travel is permitted in the non-home leave year. The reimbursement of education grant travel expenses is limited to the cost of round-trip travel between the duty station and the staff member's recognized place of home leave.
If staff are reassigned to their home country after having been eligible for education grant, they may, to ease the transition, continue to receive the grant for the balance of the school year.
Special assistance is available to staff with disabled dependants. The children's allowance for a disabled child is twice the usual amount. The education grant for disabled children is based on 100 per cent of allowable costs. There are also provisions, applicable at the discretion of the executive head of each organization, in respect of medical and travel expenses.
The employing organization normally pays the travel expenses of a staff member on initial appointment, on change of duty station, on separation from service, for travel on official business, for home leave travel, and on travel to visit family members. (The specific provisions are described in the relevant sections of this booklet.)
The travel expenses of a staff member's spouse and/or dependent children are normally payable: on the initial appointment or reassignment of a staff member for one year or more; on separation from service; on education grant travel; on home leave.
Travel expenses include payment of daily subsistence allowance (DSA) at rates established and promulgated by the Chairman of ICSC. These rates are increased by 15 per cent at the D-1 and D-2 levels, and by 40 per cent at the Assistant Secretary-General and Under Secretary-General and equivalent levels. DSA for eligible family members is half the rate for the staff member. It is not paid in connection with education grant travel, home leave or family-visit travel, except for stopovers made under specific conditions. Transfer expenses at points of departure and arrival are covered through additional payments.
In special circumstances requiring evacuation of staff members and their families for medical or security reasons, the organizations also cover certain defined travel and travel-related costs.
The mobility and hardship allowance is designed to encourage mobility between duty stations as operationally required by the organizations, and to compensate for service at difficult locations. The allowance, which is non-pensionable, is expressed in terms of the base/floor salary. The reference point for computing the applicable percentages of the base/floor salary scale is the midpoint (P4, step VI) at the dependency rate. This median rate is used for the P-4 and P-5 levels and a 13 per cent differential is added or subtracted at higher and lower levels. The dependency rate is paid to staff with dependants, whether or not they accompany the staff member to the duty station. The allowance for staff without dependants is 75 per cent of the dependency rate.
For purposes of the mobility and hardship allowance and the assignment grant (see C below), all duty stations are placed in one of six categories:
H (headquarters and similar designated locations where the United Nations system has no developmental or humanitarian assistance programmes)
An assignment grant is paid when a staff member travels at the organization's expense on recruitment or transfer/reassignment for a period of service expected to be of at least one year. The grant is intended to cover additional costs of taking up residence at the duty station and any pre-departure expenses incurred as a result of the relocation.
The grant comprises a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) and a lump-sum portion. The DSA portion of the grant consists of 30 days' DSA for the staff member and half that amount for each eligible family member for whom travel expenses to the duty station have been paid by the organization. The lump-sum portion consists, depending on circumstances, of one or two months' net remuneration at the duty station of assignment. The actual amount of the lump sum payable depends on the duration of the staff member's assignment, on whether or not the staff member is entitled to full household removal, and on whether the assignment is to a field (A-E) or headquarters (H) duty station.
Expenses incurred for the full removal of household goods or a smaller shipment of personal effects are normally covered by the employing organization. The organizations determine which arrangement should pertain in a particular situation, on the basis of their operational requirements (including expected length of assignment). Maximum weight and volume limits for removal shipments have been established and the costs of packing, crating and insurance are covered. Compensatory adjustments are made in the assignment grant and mobility and hardship allowance based on whether the staff member has the full removal or the smaller shipment entitlement.
Storage costs may be authorized in the case of a staff member with a full removal entitlement who is temporarily transferred without the entitlement but is expected to return to the original duty station.
Staff members posted outside their home country are normally entitled to paid travel every two years to their home country for themselves, their spouse and their dependent children. Home leave is intended to permit staff members and their families to renew their ties with the home country. A staff member travelling on home leave must spend a minimum period of annual leave in his/her home country. No additional annual leave is granted for this purpose, but reasonable time off is given to cover the duration of travel between the duty station and the place of home leave. Home leave may be granted every 12 months at particularly difficult locations. (See also section XIV.)
If none of the staff member's eligible family members has travelled to the duty station at the organization's expense during the preceding 12 months (apart from children on education grant travel) an organization may pay for the travel of a staff member to visit the family. Family-visit travel may normally be taken every other year, provided it takes place in the non-home leave year (also see section XIV below). Travel may be paid to the place of home leave, the place of recruitment or the previous duty station.
At designated duty stations outside Europe or North America, part of the cost of transporting a staff member's privately owned automobile to the duty station may be reimbursed up to an established maximum amount. A duty station may be designated for this purpose if automobiles for private use are unavailable or in short supply in the locality, and if privately owned automobiles cannot be resold or have a low resale value.
Staff members accrue annual leave while in full pay status at the rate of two and one-half working days per month. Annual leave may be accumulated, but no more than 60 days of leave may be carried forward beyond a cut-off date established by the organization.
Staff members unable to work due to illness or injury may be granted sick leave. The limits on sick leave entitlements vary according to the organization and the appointment status of the staff member.
Provision is made for maternity leave with full pay, normally commencing six weeks prior to the anticipated date of delivery and extending for a total period of 16 weeks. Annual leave accrues during maternity leave provided the staff member returns to work for at least six months thereafter. Sick leave is not granted for maternity cases except where serious complications occur.
Special leave, with full or partial pay or without pay, may be granted for advanced study or research in the interest of the organization, in exceptional cases of extended illness, in the event of adoption of a child by a staff member or for other important reasons. The duration of the special leave is decided by the executive head of the organization based on the merits of each case.
Official holidays, normally numbering nine a year, are designated for each duty station. These are not charged to annual leave and their timing varies according to local conditions and customs.
If upon separation from service staff members have annual leave which they have been unable to use up for reasons of service, this leave may be converted into a cash amount, calculated on the basis of the net remuneration payable at the duty station where the staff member served prior to separation. The maximum amount of leave which may be commuted in this way is 60 days.
A repatriation grant is payable on separation to internationally recruited staff in respect of periods of service outside the home country. Evidence of relocation away from the country of the last duty' station must normally be provided, although repatriation to the home country is not a requirement. The amount of the grant is calculated by reference to the base/floor salary scale and varies according to family status and length of service outside the home country. The grant is not paid to staff who are summarily dismissed.
A termination indemnity may be payable to a staff member whose appointment is terminated by the employing organization for any of the following reasons: abolition of post or reduction of staff; poor health or incapacitation for further service; unsatisfactory service; agreed termination.
A staff member whose appointment is terminated for unsatisfactory service or who is dismissed for misconduct (other than summary dismissal for serious misconduct) may be paid an indemnity of up to half the full amount.
Termination indemnity is not payable in other circumstances of separation (resignation, expiration of fixed-term contract, summary dismissal; abandonment of post; retirement as per Pension Fund regulations).
The amount of the termination indemnity paid due to ill health or incapacity is reduced by any disability payments received from the Pension Fund.
A death grant is paid to the surviving spouse and/or dependent children of a staff member who dies in service when he/she held an appointment for one year or had completed one year of service. The payment is calculated according to the following schedule:
| Completed years of service | Months of base/floor salary |
|---|---|
| 3 or less | 3 |
| 4 | 4 |
| 5 | 5 |
| 6 | 6 |
| 7 | 7 |
| 8 | 8 |
| 9 or more | 9 |
The organizations make group health insurance schemes available to staff members and their dependants and subsidize the premiums. In some instances the health insurance scheme complements locally available public health insurance.
Group life or accident insurance schemes are also available. As participation is voluntary, the costs of these schemes are borne in full by the staff member.
The organizations have established schemes to provide compensation to staff members or their recognized dependants in the event of death, injury or illness attributable to the performance of official duties.
The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) provides retirement, disability and survivors' benefits for the staff of organizations that are members of the Fund. A full description of these schemes can be found in the UMSPF Rules and Regulations and in an explanatory booklet issued by the UNJSPF called the United Nations Pension System.
Staff who have an appointment of six months or more or who complete six months of service without an interruption of more than 30 days become participants in the Fund. A worldwide scale of pensionable remuneration, used for determining contributions to the Fund and for calculating pension benefits, is applicable to all Professional staff.
The current rate of contribution to the Fund is 23.7 per cent of pensionable remuneration, with two thirds paid by the organization and one third by the staff member.
Pensions are calculated on the basis of the staff member's final average remuneration (FAR), defined as the average of pensionable remuneration for the highest 36 months of the last five years of service. Benefit accumulation rates, which may vary according to the date on which the staff member joined the Fund, are described in detail in UNJSPF regulations. Under conditions prescribed in UNJSPF regulations a child's benefit may be payable concurrently with a participant's pension, and survivor's benefits may be payable to a spouse, child or secondary dependant. The Pension Fund does not reimburse national taxes on pensions.
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