Duration of contracts
The duration of contract will depend on the length of the project (Article 5 of the Staff Regulations).
Probationary period
Staff members must serve a six-month probation period (Article 7 of the Staff Regulations).
Installation allowance
Staff members with a contract of at least one year at the time of their appointment with ECMWF, that reside more than 100 kilometres away from the duty station i.e. ECMWF, or serving staff who are transferred or move their residence near new ECMWF premises located more than 100km away, will be eligible to a payment of installation allowance, subject to providing the appropriate documentation.
Basic amount
Staff members not entitled to expatriation allowance will be eligible to claim a one off basic amount for installation of £1875.
Staff members entitled to expatriation allowance will be eligible to claim a one off basic amount for installation equal to one month’s basic salary, up to a ceiling of £5,156.
Supplements that may be added
Should family members join and reside with the staff member at the duty station, i.e. ECMWF, a supplement for dependents will also be paid as follows:
- of 20% of the basic amount in respect of the spouse or, in the absence of a spouse, the first dependent child of the staff member
- 10% of the basic amount in respect of any other dependent.
However, the overall supplement for dependents shall not exceed 100% of the basic amount of £1875.00.
Mobility:
Staff members who move their residence due to a transfer to another duty station located more than 100 kilometres away will be eligible to a one off mobility supplement of 75% of the basic amount.
Remuneration
The following applies for eligibility for staff that took up duties at the Centre up to 31 December 2016:
Remuneration consists of a basic salary in accordance with the staff member’s grade and step. ECMWF follows incremental salary scales within Grades A, L, B and C; the highest grade is A7 and the lowest is C1. In addition to the basic salary, the following allowances are payable, subject to qualifying conditions:
- Dependent child allowance: currently £280.52 per child per month (Article 16.A)
- Expatriation allowance (Article 18)
- Education allowance (for staff eligible for expatriation allowance) (Article 17)
- Household allowance: 6% of basic salary (Article 15.A)
- Rent allowance: only certain grades and subject to certain conditions (Article 20)
For new staff that take up duties on or after 1 January 2017, the following applies:
- Supplement for dependent child, currently £280.52 (Article 16.B)
- Expatriation allowance (Article 18)
- Education allowance (for staff eligible for expatriation allowance) (Article 17)
- Basic family allowance currently £280.52 (Article 15.B)
- locally recruited staff (not entitled to expatriation allowance) - payable for 5 years
- staff entitled to expatriate staff (recruited from within the geographical zone of ECMWF) - payable for 10 years, decreasing by 20% per year from year 6 to reach zero in year 10
- staff entitled to expatriate staff (recruited from outside the geographical zone of ECMWF) - payable for the duration of employment
- Rent allowance: only certain grades and subject to certain conditions (Article 20)
Expatriation allowance
The expatriation allowance will be paid to staff members within the grade categories A, L and B who, at the time of their appointment with ECMWF:
- were not nationals of the UK; and
- had not been continuously resident in the UK for at least one year, no account being taken of previous service in their own country's administration or with other international organisations; and
- were recruited internationally from outside the Co-ordinated Organisations or from outside the country of assignment; and
- were recruited from outside the local commuting area of the duty station.
The local commuting area shall be defined as a radius of 100 km from the duty station.
Expatriation allowance is always calculated on the first step of the grade.
The rate of the expatriation allowance during the first five years of service will be 10% of basic salary. In years six through ten, it will be reduced by two percentage points per year to reach zero in year ten (Article 18 of the Staff Regulations).
Education allowance
Staff members who are entitled to the expatriation allowance may claim the reimbursement of educational costs (education allowance) for each dependent child who regularly attends an educational establishment on a full-time basis. ECMWF will reimburse 70% of the admissible educational expenditures; ceilings apply (Article 17 of the Staff Regulations).
Income tax
The remuneration received from ECMWF is exempt from national income tax.
Social security
Staff members are exempt from paying national insurance contributions in the UK. However, it is possible under certain conditions to pay into the scheme on a voluntary basis by paying Class 3 national insurance contributions.
Pre-school expenses for nurseries
To assist both expatriate and locally employed staff members facing increasingly high nursery care expenses, ECMWF will contribute a monthly lump sum payment not exceeding the dependent child allowance, currently £280.52 per month. This contribution towards nursery expenses is paid only up to the time when the child starts school. Qualifying conditions apply.
Supplementary health insurance scheme
All staff members are required to contribute to ECMWF’s supplementary health insurance scheme for personal medical insurance. The insurance offered by this scheme is supplementary to the coverage available under any national health scheme. Staff members are required to contribute 1/3 of 4.32% of their basic salary, plus related allowances, to this scheme. The percentage rate is reviewed from time to time.
Pension scheme
Staff members are affiliated to ECMWF’s Funded Pension Scheme, to which the staff member’s contribution is presently 12.9% of the monthly basic salary. A staff member is entitled to draw a pension normally at the pensionable age of 63 years after having completed ten or more years of service with the organisation. Staff members leaving the organisation with less than ten years of service are entitled to a leaving allowance. In the case of total incapacity, invalidity pensions are payable regardless of the length of service. In the case of death of a staff member, survivors’ or orphans’ pensions will be paid for eligible survivors or orphans.
Annual leave
Staff members are entitled to paid annual leave at a rate of 2.5 working days for each month of service completed, i.e. 30 working days per year, plus official holidays (Article 33 of the Staff Regulations).
Home leave
Staff members in receipt of expatriation allowance are entitled to eight working days of home leave every two years (in addition to annual leave). ECMWF covers the home-leave travel expenses for the staff member and dependent family members (Article 34 of the Staff Regulations).
Maternity leave
The maternity leave entitlement is 20 weeks on full pay provided the staff member has worked at least six months (Article 36 of the Staff Regulations).
Sick leave
ECMWF has provision for paid sick leave for up to a maximum of nine months on full pay, with provision for a further three months on reduced pay (Article 35 of the Staff Regulations).
Working hours
The normal working week is from Monday to Friday inclusive and shall total 40 hours (Article 29 of the Staff Regulations).