| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Base salary scale | Two different net base salary scales: one for staff with dependants and another for staff with no dependants. | One unified net base salary scale, applied uniformly to all staff, regardless of family status. |
| Step increments (see table here) |
Differing numbers of steps within grades. P-1 = 9. P-2 = 12. P-3 and P-4 = 15. P-5 and D-1 = 9. D-2 = 6. |
Same number of steps for all grades except D-2. P-1 to D-1 = 13. D-2 = 10. |
| Step periodicity |
Differing periodicity for step increments within grades: P-1 = nine annual step increments, 0 biennial step. P-2 = 10 annual step increments; one biennial step. P-3 = 12 annual; two biennial P-4 = 11 annual step increments; three biennial. P-5 = nine annual step increments; three biennial. D-1 = three annual step increments; five biennial. D-2 = no annual step increments; five biennial. |
More uniform periodicity approach: P-1 to P-5 = six annual step increments, six biennial. D-1 = three annual step increments; nine biennial. D-2 =9 biennial step increments. |
| Dependents | For staff with a dependent spouse, a dependency rate salary is paid in respect of a dependent spouse. Dependency rate of salary is 6 per cent higher than the single rate salary at the P-1, step I level and increases with each grade and step until it reaches 11.1 per cent at the Under-Secretary-General level. | For staff with a dependent spouse, a spouse allowance equivalent to 6 per cent of net remuneration (base plus post adjustment) is paid, irrespective of staff members’ grade and level. For a single parent, an allowance equivalent to 6 per cent of net remuneration is paid in respect of the first dependent child, irrespective of staff members’ grade and level. |
| For all staff, a child allowance is paid for each dependent child. | No change. | |
| The dependency rate is provided in lieu of child allowance for the first child if there is no dependent spouse. | For staff members without a dependent spouse, who are not single parents, the dependency rate is NOT paid in respect of the first dependent child. The first dependent child receives a child allowance, as all other dependent children. In the case of single parent staff, the first dependent child receives an allowance equivalent to 6 per cent of net remuneration, in lieu of the child allowance. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Post adjustment index structure | The post adjustment index (PAI) structure includes stabilizing components, such as pension contribution and out-of-area indices, which are common for all duty stations. | The PAI structure is maintained. However, the Advisory Committee on Post Adjustment Questions (ACPAQ) recommended and the Commission approved the revisions to the calculation of the PAI to make it more accurate, transparent and cost-effective.Revisions apply to the methodology for calculating the rent index for group I duty stations and determining the out-of-area weight for all duty stations. The overall effect of these changes on post adjustment depends on the relationship between the in-area (excluding housing) and out-of-area indices, as well as exchange rate fluctuations. Depending on these factors, the changes might lead to increases in post adjustment in some cases and decreases in others. |
| Post adjustment classification review cycles | The list of Group I duty stations can be found in Annex II of the following document: Post Adjustment Booklet. All other duty stations not listed are Group II. | Post adjustment classification review cycles for group I (including headquarters) duty stations synchronized with that of New York. No change in the post adjustment classification review cycles for group II duty stations. |
| Operational rules governing the post adjustment system | The 5 per cent rule which applies to group I duty stations may trigger an additional post adjustment classification (PAC) review before the statutory annual review in all cases when the cost of living at the duty station increases by 5 per cent or more since the last PAC review. | The 5 per cent rule will be modified so as to trigger an additional PAC review only in cases of significant annual inflation and only if triggered more than three months before the mandatory PAC review date. |
| The gap closure measure applied to all duty stations implementing survey results significantly lower than the existing pay index provides for setting the level of the applicable pay index 5 per cent higher than the post adjustment index derived from the survey. | The aspect of the gap closure measure dealing with the 5 per cent augmentation of the PAI derived from the survey is abolished. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Education grant [3] | ||
| Eligibility | Scheme covers admissible expenses from primary, secondary and tertiary level schools. | No change. |
| Reimbursement method | Fifteen currency/country zones, with a maximum admissible expenses ceiling associated with each zone. Staff members are reimbursed based on a cost-sharing principle, 75 per cent of costs up to ceiling for each zone. | One global reimbursement sliding scale consisting of seven brackets. Cost sharing principle is maintained; however, lower cost options are incentivized with higher rates of reimbursement. |
| Admissible expenses | Admissible expenses include: tuition, mother-tongue tuition, enrolment-related fees, books, daily transportation to school and other miscellaneous expenses, including capital assessment fees. | Admissible expenses include: tuition, mother- tongue tuition and enrolment-related fees. Reimbursement of capital assessment fees is left to each organization. |
| Boarding assistance | Boarding expenses dealt with within admissible expenses for all levels and locations (up to the maximum where the child is studying), with additional support to staff serving in designated duty stations. | Boarding expenses are reimbursed only for staff in the field, based on a flat amount of $5,000 if the child is (a) in primary or secondary level education; (b) boarding at a school outside the staff member’s duty station. Boarding assistance may be granted exceptionally by Executive Heads to staff serving at head-quarters duty stations. |
| Education grant travel | One round trip for each scholastic year (twice a year for staff in designated duty stations) for children studying away from the staff’s place of duty. | One round trip for each scholastic year for children in receipt of assistance with boarding expenses. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardship allowance[4] | Hardship allowance amounts vary according to the hardship category of duty station, staff member’s grade and family status. | Hardship allowance amounts vary according to the hardship category of duty station and staff member’s grade, regardless of family status. Staff currently receiving salary at the dependency rate, including those receiving the dependency rate in respect of a child, will see no difference in the amounts, while those currently receiving salary at the single rate will see increases in the amounts. |
| Staff in duty stations classified B to E receive a payment, with the amounts increasing as the level of hardship increases. | No change. | |
| Payment amounts grouped by grades: P-1 to P-3, P-4 to P-5, D-1 and above. | No change. | |
| Additional hardship allowance (AHA) (new "Non-family service allowance") | The allowance is paid in varying amounts based on family status and grade. | The allowance is paid in flat amounts based on family status only, irrespective of grade. |
| For staff paid at the dependency rate, the allowance is equivalent to 100 per cent of the applicable hardship allowance for category E. For staff paid at the single rate, it is equivalent to 50 per cent of the applicable hardship allowance for category E. | For staff with dependants, the annual amount is $19,800 and for staff with no dependants, the annual amount is $7,500. | |
| The allowance is called "Additional hardship allowance." | The allowance is called "Non-family service allowance. | |
| Mobility allowance (new "Mobility Incentive")[5] | Allowance amounts increase as the number of assignments and the staff member’s grade increase. Staff members with dependents receive higher amounts. At A to E duty stations, allowance is paid as of the second assignment and is increased for each subsequent geographical move up to the seventh assignment, after which the amount remains the same. | Allowance is paid in flat amounts starting from the second assignment (i.e. first geographical move). The amount increases as staff member’s grade increases, but not differentiated by family status. The amount is increased by 25 per cent upon the 4th assignment of a staff member and by 50 per cent upon the 7th assignment. |
| At headquarters’ locations, allowance is paid where the staff member had four assignments and at least two at A to E locations. It reaches a maximum on the seventh assignment. | Allowance is not paid to staff members at headquarters’ locations. | |
| Discontinued after five consecutive years at the same duty station. | No change. | |
| The allowance is called "Mobility Allowance" and is paid in addition to all other allowances (relocation, hardship, etc.) to encourage movement of internationally recruited staff from one duty station to another in accordance with organizational needs. | The allowance is called "Mobility Incentive" and is paid in addition to all other allowances, to encourage mobility of staff to field duty stations. | |
| Danger pay | Danger pay is a special allowance established for internationally and locally recruited staff who are required to work in locations where very dangerous conditions prevail. | No change. |
| Security evacuation[6] | Paid to assist in offsetting direct added expenses of staff members and their eligible dependants who were evacuated from their official duty stations. | No change. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Relocation shipment[7] | Amounts differentiated by grade, type of duty station (i.e. field or "H" category duty station) and option selected for relocation shipment. | Amounts differentiated by family size |
| Options: (a) full removal of household goods by the organization; [8] (b) partial removal by organization: assignment grant of one or two months’ salary paid as a lump sum, plus non-removal allowance paid over a five-year period; (c) removal by staff member: relocation grant plus assignment grant of one or two months’ salary paid as a lump sum, plus non-removal allowance paid over five years. | Options: (i) full removal by the organization if that option is available; [9] otherwise, provide an option to handle full removal by the staff member up to the established weight/volume which would be reimbursed by the organization upon presentation of an invoice (only for staff with contracts of two years or more); (ii) Lump-sum option established at 70 per cent of the actual cost of relocation shipments (only for staff with contracts of two years or more); (iii) Lump-sum set by organizations based on 70 per cent of costs of past shipments, not exceeding $18,000 (only for staff with contracts of two years or more). |
|
| Entitlement for relocation shipment: In the United Nations and its funds and programmes, staff members with contracts of more than two years are entitled to full removal of household goods up to 4,890 kg (30.58 m3) for staff with no eligible family members and up to 8,150 kg (50.97 m3) for staff with eligible family members, by the most economical means. | Entitlement for relocation shipment of household goods for staff with assignments of two years or more: Up to a standard 20-foot container for single staff and a 40-foot container for staff with eligible family members, regardless of the weight of household goods, via the most cost-effective route and mode of transportation./td> | |
| Settling-in grant | Currently the payment is called "Assignment Grant" and is paid based on the hardship category of the duty station. It includes both a lump-sum element and a daily subsistence allowance (DSA) element. The lump-sum is equal to one or two months base salary plus the applicable post adjustment. Staff members who are not entitled to full removal of household goods or who have opted for the full removal of household goods are not entitled to a lump-sum on assignment to a category H duty station. | The payment is called "Settling-in Grant" and consists of 30 days local DSA for staff plus 15 days of local DSA for each accompanying eligible family member and a lump-sum amount equivalent to one month of the net base salary of staff plus the applicable post adjustment at the new duty station. |
| Relocation travel | Arranged by the organization. | No change. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Performance payment | Pay progression through step increments subject to satisfactory performance (also see section on step periodicity above). No recognition of different levels of performance. | No change to present eligibility arrangements for step increments except that the current practice of granting accelerated step increments is discontinued. |
| Recruitment bonuses | None. | Introduction of a recruitment incentive scheme in the case of experts in highly specialized fields. The incentive should not exceed 25 per cent of annual base salary for each year of the agreed contract. |
| Old system | New system | |
|---|---|---|
| Rest and recuperation travel | Rest and recuperation framework: Paid travel every six, eight or 12 weeks depending on the duty station, in accordance with the rest and recuperation framework. | No change. |
| Home leave paid travel | Organizations arrange the travel. Travel is provided every 24 months cycle. | No change. |
| Accelerated home leave paid travel | Accelerated home leave travel C, D and E duty stations every year. | Approved only in D and E category duty stations that do not fall under the rest and recuperation framework. |
Note: The Commission’s 2013 (A/68/30) and 2015 (A/70/30) reports in English, French, Russian and Spanish are available on its website: http://icsc.un.org/library/default.asp?list=AnnualRep