Conditions of Employment²

Salaries and Benefits

The salaries, benefits and other conditions of employment of all IAEA staff are determined within the framework of the United Nations Common System, which embraces most United Nations organizations. They are designed to attract individuals of the highest standards of efficiency, technical competence and integrity from the IAEA´s Member States.

IAEA staff members are international civil servants who owe allegiance solely to the IAEA and are required to not accept instructions from any government or other national authority.

Salaries are usually paid in the currency of the duty station and are periodically adjusted to the cost of living. They are, in principle, exempt from national income tax. Dependency allowances in the form of higher net salaries for a dependant spouse or allowances for dependant children are provided, and in some cases a rental subsidy may be granted.

Relocation Expenses

The IAEA usually meets the costs of travel from the place of recruitment to the duty station in the case of new staff members who have been internationally recruited and their eligible dependants. It also usually meets the costs of shipping or storing and insuring household effects. Assistance with visa formalities may be provided and the IAEA can arrange initial hotel accommodation. Staff appointed for at least one year receive upon arrival an assignment grant for covering initial, settling-in expenses.

Similarly, a repatriation grant is payable to internationally recruited staff upon separation and relocation. The amount is linked to the staff member´s dependency status and their length of service with the IAEA.

Family Support Services and Schooling

For staff members´ children aged 3–24 months there is a full-time Child Care Centre (run in German) next to the IAEA´s Headquarters at the Vienna International Centre (VIC). Unfortunately, there is often a waiting list for this particular Centre and staff members may have to review other facilities. For older children of preschool age there are municipal "kindergartens" in the vicinity of the VIC.

Besides municipal day schools, which are run in German and generally free of charge, there are in Vienna a number of private fee-paying schools run in English, French and other languages. The Vienna International School is located near the VIC; the American International School and the Lycée Francais located in other parts of the city are a few examples. As these schools often have placement restrictions, new staff members are encouraged to register their children at the school of their preference as soon as possible.

Under an After School Recreation and Study Programme established by the UN Women´s Guild, arrangements are made for primary school children to be given lunch, receive homework guidance and engage in creative and physical (indoor/outdoor) activities.

To cover schooling (and university) costs, staff members may be entitled to an education grant.

Housing

The Joint Housing Service assists in finding reasonable rented furnished and unfurnished long term accommodation in and around Vienna. It also advises staff members on all issues concerning housing, especially lease agreements.

Although there is a wide variety of accommodation available in Vienna, newly appointed staff members are advised to contact the Joint Housing Service as soon as possible if they require assistance in finding appropriate accommodation.

Leave

Staff members are entitled to 30 days of annual leave. In addition, there are ten official holidays.

Paid sick and maternity leave (and also various forms of special paid or unpaid leave) may be granted under certain conditions. After two years of service, the IAEA meets the home leave travel costs of internationally recruited staff members who are not of Austrian nationality for travelling (with spouse and dependant children) to their recognized country of origin.

Health Insurance

Staff members may choose between two health insurance schemes, the premium costs of which are shared by the staff member and the IAEA.

In addition, the IAEA has a non-contributory compensation scheme for injury, illness or death attributable to the performance of official functions for the IAEA.

Health Care Facilities

At the VIC there is a well-equipped Medical Service which provides occupational health checks and where staff members can obtain advice on medical services in Vienna. Travel health information, inoculations and medicines for duty travel and home leave travel are also provided.

Life Insurance

Staff members have the possibility of enrolling, at their own expense, in a group life insurance scheme with several levels of coverage.The premiums depend on the staff member’s age and the level of coverage.

Pensions

Participation in the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) is compulsory for Professional staff members who have an appointment of six months or more, except when the staff member is allowed to continue instead in a national pension insurance scheme or the pension insurance scheme of his/her former employer.

Besides retirement pensions, the UNJSPF provides disability pensions and — in the event of the death of the participant — survivors´ benefits.

The mandatory retirement age is 62. Staff members separating from the IAEA before reaching that age are entitled to either a lump sum withdrawal settlement instead of a pension or (if they have at least five years of contributory service) a deferred retirement benefit or (if, in addition, they are over 55 years of age) an early retirement pension at a reduced rate. Pensions are subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments.

Training and Staff Development

The IAEA provides a variety of in-house training programmes and professional development opportunities to help staff members update and develop their work related knowledge and skills. These programmes include communication, management, career planning and computer courses. In addition, new staff members and their spouses are invited to participate in the Orientation Programme that will introduce them to the IAEA and to life in Vienna.

The IAEA also offers training at a reasonable cost in all the official languages as well as German to staff members and their spouses who wish to further develop their linguistic skills for professional or personal reasons.

The Learning Resource Centre (LRC)

The LRC is a multiple media facility for employees and their spouses. Users can broaden their professional as well as personal skills and develop their career options through self-training and workshops. A wide selection of video tapes, books, CDI, software and other instructional material is available at the LRC and assistance is provided to guide users in the use of these materials.

In addition, the LRC offers counselling in relocation matters and support for spouses in the jobsearch process.

The IAEA Headquarters and Other Facilities

The IAEA´s Headquarters is located — together with a number of other United Nations organizations — at the VIC, an office complex comprising several towers and bordering on Vienna7acute;s Donaupark (Danube Park). The site lies about 7 km (4 miles) from the centre of Vienna and is easily accessible by car and public transport. Parking is available at low cost.

Other facilities at the VIC include a post office, a bank, two travel agencies, a pharmacy, a newsstand, a drycleaning service, a restaurant, a self-service cafeteria and a gymnasium.

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