FAQs: TRANSITION from SPECIAL OPERATIONS APPROACH (SOA) to ADDITIONAL HARDSHIP ALLOWANCE (AHA) SCHEME effective 1 JULY 2016.

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1 GENERAL PROVISIONS FOR ALL STAFF IN NON FAMILY DUTY STATIONS (NFDS) The Special Operations Approach (SOA) will be discontinued on 30 June What happens on 1 July 2016? Effective 1 July 2016, all existing and new staff members assigned to ICSC- designated non-family duty stations (NFDS) will be eligible for the additional hardship allowance (AHA). How is the salary and entitlements calculated under the AHA scheme? Under the AHA scheme, a staff member s salary and entitlements (post adjustment, hardship allowances, and rental subsidy for the staff member only, are based on the actual NFDS. To this, the Additional Hardship Allowance (AHA) is added (see Annex I for AHA amounts below). Please refer to the UNDP Salary Estimate calculator. How are monthly payments affected in the AHA scheme compared to the SOA scheme? Allowance SOA Scheme NFDS Scheme Post adjustment APA rate Actual duty station rate Hardship allowance APA rate Actual duty station rate Non removal allowance No change No change Mobility allowance Based on APA Based on actual duty station allowance No change No change Rental subsidy/ deduction For housing at APA/elsewhere/home country Danger pay No change, as applicable No change, as applicable SOLA Paid by country office No entitlement AHA No entitlement Paid with salary MORSS Eligible at the APA, as applicable For housing at actual duty station only, if applicable Eligible at actual duty station only, as applicable Under what circumstances is the AHA paid or discontinued due to absence from the duty station? The AHA is paid monthly for the period that a staff member is assigned to the NFDS duty station. The allowance continues to be paid even during absences from the duty station, including absences due to official travel, annual/home leave and Rest & Recuperation (R&R) travel. Under the AHA scheme, is the staff member and his/her family members eligible for home leave? Non-family duty stations usually have a home leave cycle of 12 months. Under the scheme, only the staff member will be eligible for home leave. In addition, the staff member will be eligible for family visit travel and reverse education grant travel. If a staff member s family remains in the former APA/elsewhere after 30 June 2016, will the staff member s eligible family members HL travel entitlement remain unchanged until the end of the assignment? 1

2 If the staff member decides to keep his/her family in the former APA/elsewhere at his/her convenience, the staff member s family will not be entitled to HL travel to home country. Only the staff member will be entitled HL travel from his/her actual duty station to his/her place of HL. How is education grant travel determined for eligible children of a staff member on the AHA scheme? Staff members under the AHA scheme will be eligible to receive education grant travel for dependent children from the place of educational institution to home leave place. The entitlement will be one round trip per child for each scholastic year. The lump sum cost is based on a quote for the travel from the child s education institution to home leave place. How is family visit travel administered for a staff member on the AHA scheme? Under the NFDS scheme, only the staff member will be eligible for family visit travel from NFDS to home leave place. The staff member may choose to exercise family visit travel to another location where his/her family may be residing but the cost will be the lower of travel from NFDS to HL place and NFDS to elsewhere. How does the AHA scheme impact the Rest and Recuperation cycle of the duty station? The AHA scheme has no impact on the R&R cycle of a designated NFDS. Are staff members residing in UNDP or other guest houses/un compounds at a NFDS eligible for rental subsidy? Under the AHA scheme, and provided a staff member pays directly for his/ her own accommodation including at a UNDP guest house or UN compound, he/ or she will be eligible to apply for a rental subsidy and may qualify for such a subsidy provided they meet the rental subsidy requirements as detailed in the UNDP rental subsidy policy. Staff members may be subject to rental deductions for organization provided or subsidized accommodation at the NFDS. STAFF MEMBERS CURRENTLY on SOA Between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016, can a staff member on SOA change from SOA to the AHA scheme? Staff members currently administered under SOA, may opt to change to the AHA scheme at any time before 30 June 2016, provided they that they have served at their current NFDS duty station for at least one year; have at least 12 months left on their current assignment to the NFDS and observe the 3 months interval between any entitlement related travel. Staff members who opt to change from SOA to AHA during this period are not entitled to the Relocation Grant or full installation from the APA to the NFDS. In such circumstances and when an installation in the APA has taken place, the staff member will be entitled to the unaccompanied shipment amount for him/herself. If no installation took place, and in all other aspects, the same conditions will apply as when a duty station changes from family to nonfamily as specified in the SOA policy. There will be no travel entitlement or assignment grant for the staff member from the APA to the NFDS in which they are already serving. 2

3 What happens to the families of staff members when changing to the AHA scheme? Effective 30 June 2016, SOA will be discontinued and the entitlement to have an APA will cease but the staff member may wish to keep his/her family at the APA for their convenience. Scenario 1 For existing staff members who are under SOA and whose eligible family members are residing at the APA/elsewhere, the eligible family members will be relocated at UNDP s cost to the staff member s home country or elsewhere subject to the maximum cost of move to the home country, including entitlement to shipment/relocation grant and assignment grant DSA (please see below). Travel of eligible family members to home country or elsewhere subject to proof that the dependents were relocated to home country/elsewhere (boarding passes, tickets, passport stamps). Travel costs will be paid as monetized travel capped the costs of APA to home country. Relocation grant in lieu of unaccompanied shipment (USD 5,000) or unaccompanied shipment (500 kg first dependent and 300 kg for each following dependent) is applicable for eligible dependents who have been installed at the APA and who are relocated to the home country or elsewhere in connection with the phase out of SOA. DSA at 50% of eligible family members is payable capped to the home country using the rate applicable on the date of processing of the claim but no later than 30 June Scenario 2 For existing staff members whose eligible family members are already residing in the home country, at the time of assignment/recruitment of the staff member to a NFDS, there are no entitlements payable (for travel, relocation and assignment grant) due to the change from the SOA scheme to the AHA scheme. Scenario 3 For existing staff members whose eligible family members are installed in the APA but travelled out of APA under EGT to education institution the return ticket should be used to return to the APA where after they will be entitled to travel to home country from APA to home country as per scenario 1. Scenario 4 - Once a staff member is administered under the AHA scheme, he/she may choose to leave his/her family in the APA/elsewhere for the remainder of their current assignment subject to meeting host government visa requirements with no SOA entitlements (see table above). When a staff member s home country is an ICSC designated NFDS, what happens to the staff member s family? Families that already reside at such a location (place of home leave) would be expected to continue residing there. Cases of eligible family members residing at the APA/ elsewhere will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and entitlements based on AHA scheme. What will UNDP pay for travelling eligible family members? 3

4 The basis of the AHA scheme is that eligible family members will reside at the place of home leave. Unless they are residing there already at the time of assignment/ recruitment of the staff member to a NFDS, UNDP will provide travel lump sum (most direct and economical route) for them to the place of home leave/elsewhere, however only up to the cost of the place of home leave. Subject to proof that the dependents were relocated to home country/elsewhere (boarding passes, tickets, passport stamps), travel costs will be paid as monetized travel capped the costs of APA to home country. Similar arrangements will be made regarding shipment entitlements. When UNDP travels a staff member s family to their home leave country or elsewhere, will the family members be entitled to DSA (50%)? Provided the cost of installing the family in the elsewhere location does not exceed the cost of installing the family in the place of home leave, the staff member s family will be entitled to DSA as per the provisions governing assignment grant (DSA portion). DSA payable is capped to the home country using the rate applicable on the date of processing of the claim but no later than 30 June What would be the shipment allowance for a staff member and his/her recognized dependents under the new NFDS scheme? For existing staff members on SOA: Unaccompanied shipment or relocation grant in lieu of (5,000 USD) is applicable for eligible dependents who have been installed at the APA and who are relocated to the home country or elsewhere in connection with the phase out of SOA. Newly assigned staff members without dependents: Staff members who are assigned to a non-family duty station will be entitled to up to a maximum of 1,000 kgs, or a lump sum of $10,000. Newly assigned staff members with dependents: Staff members with dependent family members who are assigned to a non-family duty station will be entitled to up to a maximum of 1,000 kgs for the staff member, 500 kgs for the spouse and 300 kgs per dependent child. The total entitlement can be split between the actual NFDS and the place of residence of the family, the latter up to the cost of the place of home leave. Alternatively the staff member may opt for a lump sum of $15,000. What assistance does UNDP offer for visas and residence permits for a staff member s family members under the AHA scheme? The organization will make every attempt to continue assisting with the visa only for purposes of facilitating children s attendance in school and/or continuance of a spouse s employment. However, the organization cannot guarantee any such visa arrangements, even at the staff member s previous duty station beyond 30 June Regardless of the staff member s family s location, once the staff member is administered under the AHA scheme and for all staff assigned to NFDS after 30 June 2016, the pay package for the staff member (Post Adjustment and Rental Subsidy) will be based on the new AHA scheme as detailed above. Where will a staff member s family reside when there are no APAs anymore? Who will be responsible for obtaining visas for staff members family members? 4

5 The AHA scheme is based on the principle that a staff member s family members will reside in the home country (recognized place of home leave), and it will be the staff member s responsibility to make arrangements for his/her family, including their residence. Under the AHA scheme, the entitlement is for installation of the family in the staff member s home country. However UNDP will do its best to provide administrative support and will facilitate to the extent possible, but with no guarantees, any travel/ residency visa requirements for staff wishing to install their families elsewhere/ at a nearby location. Annex I Additional non-family hardship allowance (Monthly amounts in United States dollars- rounded down to nearest dollar based on ICSC annual amounts) Group 1 (P-1 to P-3) Group 2 (P-4 and P-5) Group 3 (D-1 and above)