Sick Leave

(1) At the first part of the 21st session (April 1960: CO-ORDINATION/R.325, Annex I) CCAQ recorded that sick leave for General Service staff should be on the same basis as for Professionals.

(2) At the first part of the 22nd session (January and March 1961: CO-ORDINATION/R.351, para. 58) most organizations, including UN, confirmed that "sick leave on half pay" meant sick leave with half of salary and related allowances, including any assignment allowance. Education grant, however, if any, continued to be paid in full. The question of accrual of annual leave during sick leave would be studied.

(3) At the 23rd session (March 1962: CO-ORDINATION/R.391, para. 109) CCAQ noted that the accepted practice of organizations provided that when an official had exhausted all his sick leave on full pay, and would otherwise be put on sick leave at half pay, "the portion of each day which would otherwise be without pay may be charged to annual leave at the staff member's request".

(4) It was decided at the same session to make a study of the way each organization determined in practice "any four consecutive years" for sick leave purposes.

(5) At the 24th session (March 1963: CO-ORDINATION/R.430, para. 82) CCAQ noted from a staff office study (CC/SO/47) that there were numerous but mostly minor differences in the systems of the various organizations. It would be desirable to eliminate these so far as possible, and they should be examined by a working party later in the year.

(6) At the 30th session (March 1969: CO-ORDINATION/R.733, para. 80) CCAQ agreed that there was in general no objection, subject to the circumstances of individual cases, to the practice of extending the appointment of an official who, at the normal expiry of his fixed-term contract, was medically unfit, by a period which enabled him to exhaust his sick leave entitlement. CCAQ took note that UNDP would have no objection to financing such extensions of appointments of personnel serving on UNDP-financed projects and requested UNDP to issue an appropriate authorization covering the extension of posts in such cases.

(7) At its 31st session (March 1970: CO-ORDINATION/R.798, para. 56) CCAQ agreed that should a staff member be ill on the normal date of separation there was justification under certain conditions for granting an extension of the contract to allow for the exhaustion of any accrued sick leave remaining to his credit on that date. Each organization should be free to extend contracts in such cases as it deemed appropriate.

(8) At its 39th session in March 1974 (CO-ORDINATION/R.1031, para. 48) CCAQ agreed that the existing sick leave rule for permanent staff should be modified to provide that reduction to half-pay status should not occur until the staff member had exhausted his full nine months entitlement to leave at full pay, thus permitting up to nine months on full pay in a twelve-month period but subject always to the overall four year limit.

(9) At its 51st session (August 1979: ACC/1979/R.55, para. 24) CCAQ agreed that organizations would endeavour to align themselves on the practice of requiring three year of service (or contracts totalling three years) by a fixed-term staff member in order for him or her to qualify for the same sick leave entitlements as the permanent staff member. This rule would likewise apply to staff on probation.

(10) At its 59th session (July 1983: ACC/1983/18, paras. 105-106) CCAQ agreed that changes in national legislation governing uncertified sick leave, which might have an effect on the policy of the organizations, should be settled on a local basis. (11) At its 87th session (July 1997: ACC/1997/13, paras. 12(c) & 19-20) CCAQ agreed on a basic text to be incorporated in each organizations rules or administrative provisions on the use of uncertified sick leave to cover family-related reasons.