Purpose
10 This section sets out the administrative procedures required to implement the provisions of Article 35 of the WHO Constitution, Articles I and IV of the Staff Regulations and Section 4 of the Staff Rules relating to appointments.
20 This section must be read in conjunction with Section III.4.3, Appointment Policies.
30 The pre-requisites to an offer of appointment are that:
- the position is established, classified and funded;
- the selection process has been completed and the selection decision approved following the procedures in place;
- the selected candidates profile has been entered in the on-line system;
- essential educational qualifications (degrees/certificates) have been submitted during the recruitment process. While the candidate is not required to provide the originals upon reporting for duty, the Organization reserves the right to request these originals at any given point during the appointment;
- reference checks have been completed (by the Recruitment Specialist);
- Government clearance has been given when applicable;
- initiation of the appointment action; (Recruitment Specialist)
- medical clearance has been given by Staff Health and Wellbeing Services (SHW);
- security clearance has been received when applicable.
40 Upon selection for a post and before an offer of appointment can be made, a candidate shall receive written notification which shall give information on the proposed appointment and call attention to various requirements such as calling of references, medical examination, government and security clearances where required and verification of qualifications. When these requirements have been satisfactorily completed, a formal letter of offer and acceptance of appointment is prepared, signed by, or on behalf of, the Director-General (see table below) and is dispatched to the selected candidate.
50 A formal Letter of Offer and Acceptance of a fixed-term appointment (see Letter of Offer and Acceptance of a Fixed-term Appointment ) is prepared, as provided in Staff Rule 440, when the selection and recruitment procedures described in III.4.1 Recruitment and III.4.2 Selection have been satisfactorily completed.
60 All offers of appointment are signed by the appropriate HR Officer (HRO), Global Human Resources (GHR).
70 Where the candidate selected by one region or Headquarters for a positon is already serving as a staff member in another region or Headquarters, the recruiting office informs such staff members of their selection and reassignment, after consultation with the office to which they are at present attached.
80 Initial fixed-term appointments may be for a duration of one year or more and are normally not made in excess of two years. A fixed-term appointment may be extended for periods of up to two (2) years, subject to the conditions in III.5.12.
90 The effective date of an appointment is the date on which an appointee reports for duty if locally-recruited. For internationally-recruited staff it is the date the staff member enters on travel status for the purpose of reporting for duty if travelling to the place of duty by a route and type of transport approved by the Organization (Staff Rule 450.1). The effective date of appointment of appointees who report for duty on the first working day of a month is the 1st of the month (or earlier if their travel time begins before the 1st of the month) even if this should fall during a weekend or on an official holiday.
100 Fixed-term appointments are made to end on the last day of a calendar month, except for initial appointments which must be calculated precisely to the day, in order to coincide with the end of the probationary period.
110 A fixed-term appointment which is due to expire during a period of maternity leave, paternity leave or adoption leave, may be extended for a period determined, and under conditions established, by the Director-General, (Staff Rule 1040.2). See Section III.6 Leave and Absence.
120 The HR Administrator GHR makes the formal offer of appointment and also makes travel arrangements for the new staff member and assists in obtaining any necessary visas. Since a United Nations laissez passer can only be obtained through Headquarters, regional offices should request staff members appointed by them to complete application forms for a laissez passer and to send these to HR Liaison Services (HRS) at Headquarters.
130 If a regional office requests a new staff member appointed by it to report first at Headquarters for briefing, it should inform the technical unit concerned well in advance of the exact time of arrival in Geneva so that hotel reservations can be made and a briefing time-table drawn up.
140 For full details on travel on appointment see Section III.8.1, Travel of staff members.
150 For Professional staff, the HR Administrator, GHR determines at the time of appointment, in consultation with the staff member, the place that is to be recognized throughout their service, as the recognized place of residence prior to appointment for purposes of establishing entitlements - Staff Rule 460. Unless there are reasons to the contrary, the residence shall be determined as the place in the country of the staff member's nationality where the staff member is residing at the time of appointment.
155 A staff member living in a country other than in their country of nationality at the time of appointment shall have, as their recognized place of residence, a place in the country of their nationality determined in consultation with the staff member on the basis of reasonable justification.
160 Consideration may be given to cases if the facts so warrant where a staff member, who has only one nationality, requests to have a place in a country other than in their country of nationality as their recognized place of residence, for example: if the staff member was living in that country at the time of appointment; or if they have cultural or family ties in that country; or if they have studied or worked for an extensive period of time in that country; or in the case of insecurity in the country of nationality. In such instances, the staff member must provide proof of the right of permanent residence in the country they request to have recognized as the place of residence when submitting the request to the HR Administrator, GHR. The final decision on the staff member's recognized place of residence is taken by Unit Head, HR Policy Coordination & Internal Justice (HPJ)1.
170 If the staff member has more than one nationality, the recognized place of residence may be a place in a country other than that of the staff member's nationality designated for selection purposes. In such instances, the staff member must provide proof of the other nationality to the HR Administrator, GHR e.g. national passport, identity card or other similar documentation showing that the staff member holds the nationality of that country. The place of residence in the country of nationality other than the nationality designated for selection purposes will be determined on consultation with the staff member on the basis of reasonable justification. The final decision of the staff member's recognized place of residence is taken by Unit Head, HR Policy Coordination & Internal Justice (HPJ)2.
180 If during a staff member's service time with the Organization, they wish to change the recognized place of residence to a place in a country where the staff member holds the nationality or a right of permanent residence, a request should be made in writing to the HR Administrator, GHR with supporting documentation. Such a change may be approved, once only in a staff member's service time with the Organization. The final decision on the change in a staff member's recognized place of residence is taken by Unit Head, HPJ3.
190 All positions in the general service category are subject to local recruitment. The recognized place of residence for such locally recruited persons, irrespective of their nationality and of the length of time they may have been in the area, shall be determined as the place where the office concerned is located (Staff Rule 1310.2). See also Staff in positions subject to local recruitment.
200 WHO recognizes only one nationality for each staff member. On appointment to a fixed-term appointment, the HR Administrator, GHR must verify the nationality with the new staff member if this has not been done earlier. In most cases, the staff member's nationality is as indicated on the national passport, a copy of which should be placed in the staff member's personnel records and the nationality should be entered on the reporting form for appointment. Although only one nationality will be recognized, all other nationalities held by a staff member will, after verification, also be recorded. If doubt exists as to which nationality, for WHO purposes, a staff member is most closely associated with, the matter should be referred to Unit Head, HPJ4 at Headquarters for decision.
210 Once initially determined at the time of appointment, the nationality of a staff member remains unchanged for the duration of their service with the Organization except in those cases in which a request by a staff member for a change in nationality is approved. For further details, see III.5 Performance and change of status, Change of nationality.
220 A staff member who resides in, or is assigned to, the country of their recognized place of residence is not eligible to receive expatriate allowances and benefits. Internationally recruited staff members who change their nationality to that of their duty station will have their place of residence recognized in the country of their new nationality and consequently, as of the effective date of this change, will cease to be eligible for expatriate allowances and benefits, except as otherwise provided for in the Staff Rules.
230 Newly recruited staff members report according to the instructions set out in the offer of appointment and on the date agreed. Staff members report for duty to the HR focal point at their new duty station or the initial induction location.
240 The HR focal point should also provide information on the other administrative formalities which need to be completed when joining the Organization and/or when arriving at a new duty station.
The HR focal point ensures that the necessary appointment forms are completed, including:
- Reporting Form for Appointment (WHO 279)
- Designation of Beneficiary for residual settlement (UN Joint Staff Pension Fund) (PENS A/2)
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Declaration of Personal Status, Dependant's Recognition and Health Insurance (WHO 90.1)
- Instructions for Salary Payment (WHO 114)
- Designation, Change or Revocation of Beneficiary (Staff Rule 495) (WHO 90.6)
250 As required by Staff Rule 490, staff members are responsible on appointment for supplying the Organization with any other information and documentation that may be required for the purposes of determining their status under the Staff Rules or of completing administrative arrangements in connection with their appointments.
260 On appointment, the HR Administrator, GHR also verifies personal data such as birth and marriage/legally recognized domestic partnership dates and dependency status and determines eligibility for allowances. The information provided by the staff member concerning the dates of birth of staff members and their families are verified against the official birth certificates issued by duly constituted authorities. Where no official birth certificate has been issued, the date of birth as shown on the passport, identity card or similar document may be referred to. A subsequent request for change of date of birth arising from an alleged error in the record may be considered only if it is submitted:
- before the staff member separates from service; and/or
- before the staff member reaches the age of 50, according to the original date of birth; and/or
- within two years of the date of the staff member's initial employment with the Organization; and
- within six months of the discovery by the staff member of the alleged error, provided the staff member shows conclusively that exceptional circumstances existed which precluded his/her discovery of the alleged error earlier.
270 Any staff member who is a medical doctor registered as such by a Member State or who holds a degree such as Ph.D., LL.D, D.Sc., from a recognized university which confers that title is authorized to use the title "doctor" in WHO. Use of other titles, such as Professor, or Ambassador is not permitted.
280 Newly appointed staff members must declare in the on-line Personal History form (under "Family/Residence Information", "Relatives" section) if they are related to a WHO staff member who is their parent, son, daughter, brother or sister or spouse. All Staff members shall be responsible for keeping this information current [including when applying for vacancies].
290 The HR Administrator, GHR makes arrangements in consultation with SHW/Regional Staff Physician (RSP) for any further medical examination that may be necessary (see III.15, Medical Examinations and Immunizations, Pre-appointment examination). In addition, assistance will be provided in helping the staff member to settle into their new employment and environment. Requests for salary advances to meet urgent needs may be considered in accordance with established procedures on salary advances (see III.3, Salary, Allowances and Grants, Salary advances)
300 Staff members newly recruited or transferred to a new duty station are required to provide their home address and contact information as soon as possible after their arrival.
Probation
310 Any fixed term appointment of one year or more is subject to a period of probation of at least one year and may be extended when necessary for adequate evaluation of the staff members performance, conduct and suitability to international service (see Staff Rule 420.7. Persons appointed for periods of one year are considered as being in a continuous probationary period. This also applies to appointees transferring from another United Nations organization, on a fixed-term appointment of one year or more in accordance with Staff Rule 420.6, except for appointees transferred from the Pan American Health Organization (see Staff Rule 480.1.3). Appointees transferred from the Pan American Health Organization who have not completed a probationary period will be required to do so upon transfer to WHO.
320 Staff members promoted or reassigned to another post while still on probation are normally required to begin a new probationary period from the date of the promotion or reassignment provided that the total probationary period does not exceed two years. This also applies to appointees transferring from another United Nations organization, on a fixed-term appointment of one year or more in accordance with Staff Rule 420.6.
330 The term "personnel records" refers to all documentation and other information pertaining to a staff member maintained in the Organization’s electronic records management system, which (with the exception of medical and financial data) constitutes the official repository for information pertinent to the staff member's service with the Organization. The HR Administrator, GHR, and other HR staff who deal with personnel matters are responsible for the safe-keeping, confidential handling and security of personnel records.
340 The personnel records contain two general categories of material: (i) official and (ii) confidential.
350 Official material relates to the ordinary details of service of a staff member, including the personal history form, letters of offer and of appointment, administrative actions undertaken in the on-line system, day-to-day written notifications or other similar correspondence, etc.
360 Confidential material is of two kinds:
- privileged, which includes information and documentation concerned with pre-recruitment references, reports of pre-employment interviews, references sought by outside potential employers and confidential communications from governments; it is classified "privileged" as it is received or originated by the Organization under terms of confidentiality;
- non-privileged, which is sub-divided into "service" and "private" as follows:
(i) "service" includes performance appraisal reports and any other information or documentation related to the staff member's performance and conduct;
(ii) "private" includes designation, change or revocation of beneficiary, annual declarations of personal status, medical clearance notifications, dependant's recognition and health insurance, birth and other certificates concerning marital status/legally recognized domestic partnership and any other written notification or correspondence about the staff member's private life or outside activities.
370 Staff members are entitled to know of, and have access to, any non-privileged material in their personnel records. Staff members wishing to have access to information or other documents as maintained in their Personnel Records should access either the on-line employee self-service or address a written request to HR Administrator, GHR for any information or documentation maintained in their Organization’s electronic records management system.
380 To protect the confidential nature of material in personnel records from improper disclosure to third parties, access to such records is limited to appropriate officials, for legitimate reasons and as authorized by HR Administrator, GHR or the responsible HQ/Regional HR Manager.
390 All human resources staff in WHO are required to sign a confidentiality of information undertaking and by doing so are subject to disciplinary action under Staff Rule 1110 should they divulge or use information for any purpose other than that related to the specific performance of their duties (See III.20 Annex 4.A)
400 HRT at Headquarters regularly prepares statistical reports on the composition of the WHO workforce.
410 The On-boarding Questionnaire is designed to provide insights into the reasons individuals join WHO and their experience with the Organization in the first six months of service. Data collected will be analysed with a view to creating a more enabling work environment.
420 Completion of the On-boarding Questionnaire, following receipt of an e-mail notification, is mandatory for staff members holding fixed-term appointments. After completing the Questionnaire on an anonymous basis, staff members may request a Face-to-Face Interview to provide any additional information they did not include in the Questionnaire itself. The Interview may be requested as follows, by contacting:
a) in Headquarters, the HQ Division focal point in the HR Business Partners Unit (HRT/HBP).
b) in the Regional and Country Offices, the Regional HR Manager/Regional Focal Point.
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1234Delegation of authority from Director, HRT to Unit Head, HPJ effective 1 January 2021
