+ Salaries

The remuneration of staff in the Professional and higher categories is made up of two main elements; a base salary and post adjustment.

The Professional and higher categories comprise five Professional levels (P-1 to P-5), two Director levels (D-1 and D-2) as well as the levels of Assistant Secretary-General and Under Secretary-General. The scales are expressed as gross and net base salaries and applied uniformly, worldwide, by all organizations in the United Nations common system. Although salaries are expressed in United States dollars, in most duty stations staff are paid part of their salary in local currency . The base salary is obtained by deducting staff assessment from gross base salary. The current salary scale is to be found under the following link: http://www.un.org/Depts/OHRM/salaries_allowances/salary.htm

Post adjustment is a cost-of-living adjustment designed to achieve equivalent purchasing power for all duty stations. As the cost-of-living varies significantly between duty stations, post adjustments are set at different levels at each duty station so as to compensate for these differences in living costs and also the USD exchange rate. The post adjustment is expressed in a percentage and is considered as indicative since variations may occur each month either upwards or downwards due to currency rate fluctuations.

Post adjustment is a non-pensionable amount which is paid at a single or dependency rate, and is not subject to staff assessment. Together, base salary and post adjustment form net remuneration. The Vacancy Announcement provides the monthly post adjustment percentage that was current at the time of publishing. For further details about post adjustment, see UN ICSC web site.

+ Annual Leave

Staff members accrue annual leave at the rate of 2.5 working days per month or 30 working days per year.

+ Sick Leave / Maternity Leave

UNFCCC offers sick leave and maternity leave benefits in accordance with the established United Nations rules.

+ Dependency Allowance

For Professional and higher category staff, 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. To qualify as a dependant, a child must be under the age of 18, or, if in full-time attendance at university, be under 21 years of age. The rates of dependency allowance applicable to General Services category staff are provided in a form of a flat rate, set out in an appendix applicable to the duty station. To qualify as a dependant, a child must be under the age of 18, or, if in full-time attendance at university, be under 21 years of age.

+ Health Insurance

UNFCCC provides a health insurance plan (UNSMIS) for the reimbursement of a major portion of the expenses incurred by the staff member in accordance with the established rules. Coverage extends to all of the staff member's recognized dependants.

+ Pension Scheme

The United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) provides retirement, disability and survivor's benefits as well as lump sum withdrawal settlements to members of the Fund. The conditions for entitlement to a benefit, as well as the determination of the amount of the benefit, are governed by the Regulations of the Funds. Elements for such determination are the length of contributory service, the amount of the final average remuneration ( based on the best 36 months of pensionable remuneration during the last five years of contributory service), the applicable rate of benefit accumulation per year of contributory service and the age on separation. The staff member's contribution to the pension scheme amounts to 7.9% of the pensionable remuneration (which varies according to the grade and step). The secretariat's contribution is double that of the staff member, ie. 15.8% The United Nations Joint Service Pension Fund's web site is www.unjspf.org

+ Additional Benefits

Depending on the category and the length of the appointment, there are additional benefits that may be applicable in accordance with the United Nations rules.