REVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCIES IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

JIU/REP/2012/5

REVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCIES

IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

Prepared by

Cihan Terzi

Joint Inspection Unit

Geneva 2012

United Nations

JIU/REP/2012/5

Original: ENGLISH

REVIEW OF INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANCIES

IN THE UNITED NATIONS SYSTEM

Prepared by

Cihan Terzi

Joint Inspection Unit

United Nations, Geneva 2012

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Review of individual consultancies in the United Nations system

JIU/REP/2012/5

Objective and scope

The objective of this report is to provide an assessment of the use of individual consultants in the

United Nations system by analysing relevant policies and practices. While the focus is on

individual consultancies, the analysis of information received and the interviews highlighted that

there is not always such a clear distinction between individual consultants and some other nonstaff personnel. The present review therefore also includes broader considerations of similar

issues regarding non-staff contractual modalities.

Need for overarching criteria to choose between staff and non-staff contract modalities

Consultants and other non-staff personnel are becoming an important part of the workforce of the

United Nations system organizations. However, policies and regulations do not always provide

clear criteria for the use of these human resources, and the implementation of the policies is a

matter of concern from the perspective of fair and socially responsible employment practices,

particularly when individuals are working for extended periods of time under short-term non-staff

contracts. The pressure to deliver under inadequate funding and inflexible staffing models,

coupled with permissive non-staff policies and the lack of oversight, lead organizations to use

non-staff contractual modalities excessively.

Introducing different statuses for similar types of work in the system, which are no longer subject

to a common set of rules and regulations, may have negative consequences in terms of

employment practices, the reputation of organizations, and the coherence of the workforce.

Current practices create precarious statuses that are not fully aligned with the United Nations

values, nor with international labour principles. There is a need for the organizations to monitor

and assess the use of non-staff personnel regularly, and to introduce mitigating measures against

risks.

The review found that the policies of the organizations do not provide clear criteria for choosing

between staff and non-staff contractual modalities. ILO labour recommendations and good

practices indicate that overarching criteria to this effect would be the existence or absence of an

¡°employment relationship.¡± When there is an employment (employer-employee) relationship for

the execution of work, the contractual modality should be a staff contract; if it is an independent

contractor relationship, the contractual modality should be a consultancy or other non-staff

contract.

Need for clear consultancy policies

Some United Nations organizations have specific consultancy policies. However, the policies of

many organizations lack a clear definition of individual consultancy or do not use a specific

contractual modality or adequate practical guidelines for using consultants. In practice,

consultancies and other similar non-staff contracts are used interchangeably. Most importantly,

these contracts are used for work which should entail staff contracts.

The existing policies allow organizations to grant successive consultancy contracts which add up

to long-term assignments, with or without short mandatory breaks. This practice is no longer in

line with the nature of a consultancy contract and creates conditions for inappropriate use of

contractual modalities. The remuneration levels applied both within each organization and across

the system are not consistent and there are no guidelines for proper implementation. Likewise,

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