Seconded mission members are nominated for an assignment in a Field Operation, by or through an OSCE participating State, therefore the seconding authority reserves the right to exercise own discretion regarding the compensation/benefit packages of the staff they second. Thus, when a person is seconded by a participating State to a Field Operation, the OSCE does not pay any salary from its own Unified Budget, nor does the OSCE provide for any entitlements except those listed below.

Official Holidays and Leave

There are nine OSCE official holidays in each calendar year. In recognition of the diversity of the OSCE area, an additional day off is granted to observe a national, religious or cultural event.

The annual leave entitlement constitutes two-and-a-half working days per month. In addition, supplementary leave days may be granted in acknowledgement of some specific circumstances, such as sickness, marriage, birth of a child, death of a close relative etc.

Once every year of qualifying service, international fixed-term mission members are entitled to home leave (HL) travel. For purposes of travel and entitlements, 'home' is the place with which a staff has the closest residential ties in his/her country of secondment.

Mission members serving at hazardous or hardship duty stations are also eligible for Rest and Recuperation Leave (RRL), which represents one day off for every month of service, as well as coverage of RRL travel once a year, within the limit of HL travel costs.

Social Security

Under the OSCE social security scheme, the following benefits are made available to seconded mission members:

  • Health insurance (entirely paid by mission member);
  • Accidental Disability and Life insurance whilst on official duty;
  • Emergency medical evacuation insurance whilst on official duty.

Assignment Travel

OSCE shall reimburse new mission members for travel expenses (flight ticket and limited accompanied or unaccompanied baggage costs) from Vienna to the duty station. In cases where a mission member travels from the home country directly to the duty station, the OSCE shall limit the reimbursement to the level of travel costs from Vienna to the duty station.

Board and Lodging Allowance (BLA)

BLA is a daily allowance which is paid by the OSCE to international mission members and is intended to cover at least partially the living expenses incurred. BLA shall be paid for the duration of the assignment commencing from the arrival date of the mission member in the duty station. BLA rates shall be established yearly for each Field Operation by the Secretary General, taking into account the costs of accommodation, food and miscellaneous expenses in the mission area.

Separation travel

Upon separation, the OSCE shall pay travel expenses to seconded mission members (flight ticket and limited accompanied or unaccompanied baggage costs) from their duty station to Vienna or to any other place as authorized by the Secretary General or the respective head of mission, provided that the costs are not higher than those which would have been incurred for the travel from the duty station to Vienna.