Cash-benefits

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Salaries and allowances for international contract staff are usually decided by the head office. This section therefore deals with national staff salaries and allowances as these are usually the responsibility of the programme manager.

Salaries and allowances need to be:

consistent across the programme – the same reward for similar work
equitable – reward reflects responsibilities and qualifications
realistic – in line with the local labour market
transparent – they need to be written down
compliant – with local labour law

Particular challenges of emergencies are:

If your organisation is new to the country, there will be no established pay scales
If your organisation is already established, the existing pay scales may need to be adapted to the special requirements of the emergency – new locations, difficult conditions etc.
the local labour market will be disrupted if it is a major emergency – high demand for limited staff, 'rich' organisations arriving and paying whatever it takes to get staff etc.

Way forward

One designated person sets salaries and allowances – probably the programme manager

That person seeks advice from other organisations – there is a growing awareness of the need and a willingness to co-ordinate salaries and allowances even in the initial stages of a response.