PRELIMINARY RESULTSPRELIMINARY RESULTSSierra Leone DPG Harmonization Exercise

January 2010

Objectives• The survey was requested to explore

Salary top-ups and non-salary incentives to counterparts and PIU staff

Workshop allowances, sitting fees DSA rates/mission allowances

• Partners were enthusiastic and wanted also Local staff and consultant allowances Insurance conditions (health, social) Rules on international trainings etc

Setting expectations• The survey is meant only as a first step

Snapshot of our rules and practices Basis for discussion amongst us

• It by design has clear limitationsBased on information given by partnersNo time to detail actual practicesWide differences in rules, terminology

etc complicate comparisonsNOT a salary survey

REMUNERATING OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SERVANTSREMUNERATING OFFICIALS AND CIVIL SERVANTS

Part One

• The rates of salary top-ups reported vary very substantially

• Quite striking for the senior category counterparts (16x)

• Span actually larger for middle (44x) and support (72x) levels

Top-Ups

Top-Ups

• But few agencies report providing top-ups to counterparts (see fig.)

• Anecdotal evidence suggests it is more common than that

• Due to disconnect between HR/operations policies and actual practices in the programmes?

• Because full salaries are used rather than top-ups?• If we want to dig deeper, each agency will need to

gather detailed info on actual programme practices

On Salaries and Top-Ups• Important to note the distinction between top-

ups and straight salaries Top-ups are given to civil servants, often

as a multiple of their base (gov’t)_ salarySalaries are provided to project (PIU) staff

and (long term) consultants• The latter are generally far higher: in the

thousands vs. in the hundreds (USD)• Civil servants can also be salaried—if allowed

on project staff or consultancy contracts• If so, they follow standard salary scales• No separate modalities or rules apply

Civil Servant Consultants

• Another way to add monetary incentives for counterparts is consultancy contracts Do agencies engage in such contracts? If so, are there any parameters limiting

and regulating the practice (e.g. caps)?

• Here, remuneration levels are fixed: Standard consultant salary scales apply These are generally set at HQ level Levels thus hard to harmonize locally

Civil Servant Consultants

Allowed?Allowed? Capped?Capped?

• Only 1/5 allow it; all of whom use time limits

The grey zone

• It appears PIU salaries are frequently established on a more or less ad hoc basis

Sometimes based on normal salary scalesSometimes fixed in the project documents Sometimes agreed in Steering Committee

• The basis for calculation thus varies

• No clear, consistent framework is used

• Clarifying practices here will require each of us to gather info on what is actually done

NON-SALARY INCENTIVESNON-SALARY INCENTIVESPart Two

One very distinct result

• No agency provides non-salary incentives to government counterparts or consultants

• I.e. no housing, medical or dependent allowances, health or social insurance, phone or transport allowances

• Neither UN/donors nor INGOs do this• But most of them do give various such

allowances to core staff and project staff• The levels provided differ very significantly

Core Staff Housing Allowance

All organizationsAll organizations

• Half of organizations give, but levels vary

Core Staff Housing Allowance

• UN/donors and INGOs differ substantially• No UN/donors give to project staff, only core

Core Staff Housing Allowance

• The spread within groups is also substantial• In senior category, high/low ratio is 56x

INGOs onlyINGOs only

Project Staff Housing Allowance

Provided?• Many agencies do not employ project staff—only core staff & consultants

• They show up as n/a in the chart

• Only 1/5 of those who employ project staff give them housing allowances

Health Insurance• No one gives to counterparts or consultants• But most do to core, many to project staff

Life Insurance• No one gives to counterparts or consultants• But many do to core and project staff

Pension• No one gives to counterparts or consultants• But most do to core, many to project staff

EVENT HONORARIA AND ALLOWANCESEVENT HONORARIA AND ALLOWANCES

Part Three

Event honoraria• 40% pay resource persons at events• Of these, only just over half use fixed rates

Event honoraria• 22% pay event chairs and moderators• Again, a large minority doesn’t use set rates

Event honoraria• For chairs, rates are quite harmonized• For resource persons, the range is greater

Event transport/taxi fees• Half of respondents report giving taxi fees• Amounts vary quite significantly

DAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCESDAILY SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCESPart Four

Upcountry DSA• UN/donor upcountry rates differ greatly• INGO rates are much lower, more even

Freetown DSA• The Freetown average DSA is higher • But the range of DSA rates is equally large

ALSO CONTAINED IN THE REPORTALSO CONTAINED IN THE REPORT

The report also covers

• Dependent allowances

• Medical allowances

• Phone allowances

• Work transport allowances

• Rules around international trainings

• DSA breakdowns (meals/accommodation)