First Month

This is only relevant for UN staff.

When you receive your first salary statement, you will notice that “staff assessment” is one of the deductions. Below is a brief overview, and more information can be found on the US Taxes page of the Knowledge Gateway.

Staff assessment is an amount deducted from all UN staff members' gross pay according to the UN Staff Regulations and Rules, regardless of their nationality.

• As staff assessment is not a withholding tax, it cannot be reimbursed to staff members under any circumstances and it cannot be claimed as a deduction on United States income tax returns.

• Staff assessment deductions are credited to the Tax Equalization Fund. Those Member States that do not impose income tax on UN earnings receive a portion of the Tax Equalization Fund as an offset against their assessments for the UN regular budget, peacekeeping and tribunal budgets. (That is, if your home country does not impose taxes on your UN earnings, your home country will pay a lesser amount in annual payments to the UN).

• When staff members have to pay national income taxes on their UN earnings (such as US citizens), they are reimbursed from the Tax Equalization Fund irrespective of the total amount of staff assessment deducted from their salaries.

US citizens and permanent residents who have signed the “Waiver of rights, privileges, exemptions and immunities” (the waiver) are subject to US income tax on their UN earnings. To find out more, go to https://policy.un.org and search for Taxes.

All UN personnel are expected to “demonstrate commitment to zero tolerance of any prohibited conduct and treat all people in the workplace courteously and with dignity and respect, as well as with an awareness of their own behaviour and how it may be perceived and/or received by others” (ST/SGB/2019/8).

You may want to:

1. Check out the Fight Racism page on the UN website.

2. Join a workshop led by the UN Office of the Ombudsman and Mediation Services.

3. Attend the United to Respect Dialogues. Ask your Executive Officer (EO) or Conduct and Discipline Focal Point to ask how you can join the next training for your entity.

• For vaccinations and physical health concerns

  • Contact Medical Services – for which you can find location and contact information on your local UN Intranet iSeek page, available to all those with Unite ID / UN email.

• To discuss what is causing you stress or anxiety and to build resilience

  • Visit the Staff Counsellor in your duty station;

• To get confidential and informal help with addressing interpersonal concerns or office dynamics, and/or addressing systemic issues

  • Consult the UN Ombudsman and Mediation Services for guidance

• For confidential advice on ethics and integrity (e.g. conflicts of interests) and/or to seek protection against retaliation for reporting misconduct or cooperating with duty authorized audits or investigations.

  • Consult the Ethics Office

• To report what appears to be serious misconduct that you experience or witness – such as discrimination, harassment, sexual harassment or abuse of authority

  • Use the Speak Up Help Line, for which you can find phone numbers on UN Intranet iSeek or write to: speakup@un.org

  • Contact your entity’s Conduct & Discipline Focal Point

  • Report to the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)

• For legal questions

  • Consult the Office of Staff Legal Assistance (OSLA)

To build their professional network, connect and collaborate, and adapt and innovate, UN personnel are encouraged to join groups such as these:

• UN Innovation Network – for anyone interested in redesigning processes and policies so they better meet the need of all our clients at the United Nations.

• NewWork – open to all in the UN Secretariat who want to contribute to enhancing our work environment. To learn more and get involved, those with Unite ID can search UN Intranet iSeek for “NewWork”