210 The settling-in grant (“the “grant”) provides eligible staff members who are deemed to be internationally recruited, and who travel at the Organization’s expense, with funds at the beginning of an assignment for:
(i) initial costs incurred by staff members and their eligible family members resulting from their relocation to a duty station; and
(ii) any pre-departure expenses that may have been incurred as a result of relocating to a duty station in another country.
220 In accordance with Staff Rule
365, a temporary staff member appointed under Staff Rule
420.4 whose travel is authorized shall be paid the per diem portion of settling-in-grant:-
- upon appointment to a duty station for a period of at least one year, or
- upon extension of an initial appointment to a duty station of less than one year, resulting in an uninterrupted period of service at that duty station of one year or longer.
230 Payment of the lump-sum as per Staff Rule
365.3 does not apply to staff on temporary appointments.
Amount of the grant
240 The grant consists of payment of the per diem portion only of the settling-in grant under Staff Rule
365.2; i.e., 30 days’ full per diem for the staff member and 15 days’ per diem for eligible family members .
250 Staff members holding a temporary appointment under Staff Rule
420.4 (“temporary staff members”) and whose travel is authorized by the Organisation on appointment may be eligible for payment of the grant under the conditions set out in this Section.
260 Temporary staff members recruited from within commuting distance of the duty station are not eligible for the grant. Commuting distance shall be established on a case by case basis by
Global Human Resources (GHR), if necessary with the input from HR Specialists/Regional Human Resources Managers (RHRMs) familiar with the location, for each duty station based on local conditions and the availability of suitable transport. For purposes of the settling-in grant, an estimated one-way door-to-door travel time of 1.5 hours or distance of 100 kilometres shall normally be deemed to be within commuting distance.
270 Temporary staff members recruited from within the country of the duty station, including those recruited outside commuting distance of the duty station, are normally not eligible for the grant. However, if a temporary staff member demonstrates that it was necessary to change accommodation resulting in relocation costs from beyond commuting distance as a direct consequence of taking up the appointment with WHO, the grant may be authorized by Director, HRT, for staff members at Headquarters and DAF for staff members in the regional/country office.
280 Temporary staff members whose travel to the duty station is authorized by the Organization may also be eligible for payment of the grant in respect of their eligible family members. Eligible family members, for the purposes of payment of the grant, may be a spouse, a dependent child up to age 21, or a disabled child. The grant is payable for a family member who is authorized to travel to join the staff member at the duty station and arrives at least six months prior to the date on which the temporary staff member’s service at the duty station is expected to end.
290 A child over the age of 18 and under age 21 who is not in fulltime schooling, and a child over the age of 21 who is not recognized as disabled, does not qualify as a "dependant" within the meaning of Staff Rule 310.5 and is, therefore, not entitled to the grant.
300 A child studying abroad, other than those excluded above, is considered to reside with the staff member at the duty station. The grant is payable for such a child in conjunction with the first authorized travel to visit the staff member at the duty station, provided the staff member’s service at the duty station is expected to continue for at least six months after the child’s visit.
310 The settling-in grant is not payable for any newly acquired family member after arrival of the staff member at the duty station. Any new entitlement may only be paid upon a subsequent new appointment of the staff member, as applicable.
Return to the same duty station within one year
320 When a temporary staff member returns to the same duty station within one year of having finished his prior assignment there, another grant or settling-in assistance as per paragraph 400 below, will normally not be paid. This applies equally for individuals previously on a non-staff contract being appointed on a temporary appointment in the same duty station within one year and who have been in receipt of per diem for one month or more and/or a living allowance of equivalent value. However, in such cases where a staff member provides receipts for accommodation during the first 30 days of the new appointment to the same duty station, the grant or assistance will be paid for the period claimed up to a maximum of 30 days. Global Human Resources (GHR) determines the eligibility for the grant or assistance upon request by the staff member. The per diem entitlement in respect of eligible family members is not affected by these provisions. A complete table of applicable entitlements can be found in Annex 3.O.
330 Where a temporary staff member provides receipts of paid hotel bills during the first 30 days of a new appointment to the same duty station, the grant or assistance will be paid for the period claimed up to a maximum of 30 days. GHR determines the eligibility for the grant upon request by the temporary staff member.
340 Where the temporary staff member is eligible for payment of the grant, payment of the grant in respect of eligible family members will also be determined by GHR upon request from the temporary staff member.
350 An extension of the 30 day payment may be authorized in exceptional circumstances at A-E duty stations only, when a temporary staff member is unable to find rented accommodation and must remain in a hotel or similar accommodation. Upon submission of hotel or similar bills, and evidence that rented accommodation was not available, the payment of an extended settling-in grant may be authorized by DAF and is subject to certification by the UNDP Resident Representative that the aforementioned conditions for the payment of the extended settling-in-grant are met. If there is no Resident Representative, this certification should be obtained from another senior international official, preferably not from WHO.
360 Temporary staff members assigned to H duty stations are not eligible for payment of the extended settling-in grant beyond the normal 30 day period.
370 Where payment of an extended grant has been authorized for a temporary staff member, payment of the extended grant in respect of eligible family members will be determined by GHR upon request from the temporary staff member.
380 Payment of the grant to temporary staff members and their eligible family members depends upon the length of temporary appointment/consecutive temporary appointment(s) under Staff Rule
420.4, as follows:
Temporary appointment of less than one year
390 A temporary staff member appointed under Staff Rule 420.4 whose travel is authorized shall be paid a per diem for up to 30 days at the applicable daily rate as assistance for settling in. These temporary staff members are not entitled to install their family members at the duty station at the expense of the Organization. This settling-in assistance is paid in lieu of the settling-in grant which will therefore no longer apply upon extension of the appointment to one year or more.
Temporary appointment of one year or more
400 The settling-in grant is payable to eligible temporary staff members for 30 days at the applicable daily rate of their duty station. The grant is also payable for 15 days at the applicable daily rate for each eligible family member who is authorized to travel at the Organization’s expense, and who joins the temporary staff member at the duty station. In order to be eligible for the grant in respect of eligible family members, the staff member must have been recruited internationally and travel been paid by the Organization. The family member must arrive at the duty station at least six months prior to the expected end date of the temporary staff member’s appointment at the duty station and remain at the duty station for at least six months.
Consecutive temporary appointments up to one year or more
410 Consecutive temporary appointments are two or more temporary appointments where the staff member does not have any period of non-employment between such appointments.
420 An internationally recruited temporary staff member is entitled to claim the grant for each eligible family member, when the temporary staff member’s service on consecutive temporary appointments is expected to reach one year or more at the same duty station.
430 The grant is payable for 15 days at the applicable daily rate for each eligible family member who is authorized to travel at the Organization’s expense to join the temporary staff member at the duty station and provided the family member arrives at least six months prior to the expected end date of the temporary staff member’s appointment and spends a period of at least six months in total at the duty station.
440 The grant is payable at the per diem rate in force when the staff member reports for duty at the duty station.
450 The grant for eligible family members is payable at the rate in force upon arrival of each family member at the duty station.
Payment is made upon submission of evidence of travel authorized by GHR.
460 The grant is paid to the staff member’s salary account in the currency of this account using the United Nations exchange rate prevailing in the month of processing. If the staff member has a second salary account the payment will be divided between the two salary accounts in accordance with the salary distribution percentages set by the staff member.
470 The Organization shall not be liable for changes in exchange rates resulting from delays in processing. The USD equivalent received by temporary staff members into their bank account will be the final payment.
Procedures related to the administration of the entitlement
480 GHR is responsible for communicating with temporary staff members about their travel and related entitlements.
490 When the temporary staff member is to be paid the grant, GHR shall:
(i) certify that the temporary staff member is eligible for the grant;
(ii) determine the amount of the grant in accordance with the temporary staff member’s entitlement(s); and
(iii) authorize payment of the grant.
Both spouses are staff members of WHO or another organization of the UN common system
500 If both spouses are staff members of WHO or another organization of the UN common system, and both are entitled to a settling-in grant on appointment to the same duty station as specified in the terms and conditions of their respective employment (i.e., letter of offer of appointment), each spouse shall be entitled to the grant for himself or herself. The grant in respect of a dependent child shall be paid to the staff member on whom the child is recognized as being dependent.
Final provisions
510 This policy and these procedures will come into effect for temporary appointments issued under Staff Rule
420.4 from 1 January 2017.
