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G E N E R A L      S E C R E T A R I A T

ADMINISTRATIVE MEMORANDUM NO. 78
SUBJECT: PROCEDURE FOR THE AUTHORIZATION TO A HIGHER STEP ON INITIAL APPOINTMENT

 

I. DECISION. By decision of the Secretary General, the following procedures are established for the authorization for a higher step on initial appointment, in compliance with Staff Rule 103.3 which reads as follows:

"A staff member on initial appointment shall be placed in the first step of the grade of his post; however, the Secretary General may authorize an initial appointment to a higher step in the post if he considers that the staff member's experience and other qualifications for the duties and responsibilities attaching to the post justify a higher salary and it is necessary to maintain the income level that the staff member enjoyed in his immediately prior employment. The staff member must provide such documentation verifying his experience, qualifications, and salary and benefit levels at his prior employment, as the Department of Human Resources requires."

The following procedures supplement the provisions of Staff Rule 103.3 mentioned above.

1. As the purpose of this rule is to maintain the standard of living and the buying power of the prospective staff member, the basis for comparison and establishment of step should be the UN salary scale for the country where the staff member received the remuneration used for this calculation.

2. In comparing the prospective employee's income with General Secretariat compensation, reference shall be made to the earnings level based on the rendering of personal services as an employee of or adviser to an employer. The following shall not be considered a part of earnings because they are not part of salary: non-cash benefits; payment in kind; interest income; income taxes; dividend income; and expense-account items such as per diem, travel allowances, etc.

3. The comparison figure shall be the earnings received in the year immediately prior to, and up to, the date of appointment. In the case of prospective employees who have a record of short-term consultantships with varying levels of pay, the figure to be compared with the General Secretariat compensation shall be the average annual earnings for the two-year period immediately prior to, and up to, the date of appointment.

4. Requests for appointments to be made at higher than the first step of the grade must be accompanied by proof of previous earnings. Acceptable proof is a signed and dated statement from the employer, on official stationery, which includes the: (i) starting and ending dates of employment, (ii) position title, (iii) salary, and (iv) cash benefits and allowances.

5. An offer of employment that a candidate accepts without conditions at the first or at a higher step, may not be renegotiated for additional steps. Therefore, this Administrative Memorandum will be attached to all offers of employment.

II. REVOCATION OR AMENDMENT. This Administrative Memorandum supersedes all present practices and procedures of the General Secretariat which are in any way to the contrary.

III. EFFECT. This Administrative Memorandum shall take effect on the date on which it is signed.

 

 

James R. Harding
Assistant Secretary for Management

 

 

Date: August 20, 1996
Original: English

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