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National Personnel Services Agreement

Effective Date

Jan 01, 2026

Summary of Changes

The National Personnel Services Agreement (NPSA) policy has been revised, with main changes in the following areas:

  • Changes to conditions of service, such as applicability of flexible working arrangements to PSAs; sick leave entitlement inclusive of uncertified sick leave days.
  • Changes to contractual status, such as discontinuation of the maximum duration of contract; restrictions on simultaneous contracts to be held by one person; addition of termination indemnity for short-term PSAs, in case of termination without cause by UNDP; discontinuation of the payout of annual leave upon separation; and shortening of break-in-service between FTA to PSA from 1 month to 2 weeks.
  • Expansion of the use of PSAs, permitting the use of NPSAs for professional and support roles in functions, within an office/bureau/project or as a shared service, which may otherwise be outsourced to a company.
  • Detailed provisions on competitive selection process for PSAs have been removed from the policy, and now are provided in a separate Guidance on Competitive Selection Procedures for PSAs.
  • The Guide on Using Contractual Modalities has been updated to align with the revised policy.

International Personnel Services Agreement

Effective Date

Jan 01, 2026

Summary of Changes

The International Personnel Services Agreement (IPSA) policy has been revised, with main changes in the following areas:

  • Addition of annual remuneration increments and pension contribution for regular IPSA holders.
  • Other changes to conditions of service, such as applicability of flexible working arrangements to PSAs; eligibility for security-related entitlements for IPSAs; sick leave entitlement inclusive of uncertified sick leave days; cost-of-living (COL) component to be adjusted if there is more than 10-point fluctuation to the corresponding post adjustment rate, lowering the threshold from the previous 20 points; and introduction of office-arranged assignment/return travel for IPSA holders.
  • Changes to contractual status, such as discontinuation of the maximum duration of contract; restrictions on simultaneous contracts to be held by one person; discontinuation of exceptional compensation outside the remuneration band; addition of termination indemnity for short-term PSAs, in case of termination without cause by UNDP; discontinuation of the payout of annual leave upon separation; and shortening of break-in-service between FTA to PSA from 1 month to 2 weeks.
  • Expansion of the use of PSAs, permitting the use of IPSAs for professional roles in functions, within an office/bureau/project or as a shared service, which may otherwise be outsourced to a company.
  • Detailed provisions on competitive selection process for PSAs have been removed from the policy, and now are provided in a separate Guidance on Competitive Selection Procedures for PSAs.
  • The Guide on Using Contractual Modalities has been updated to align with the revised policy.

Service Contract

Effective Date

Jan 01, 2026

Summary of Changes

The Service Contract (SC) modality has been discontinued effective 1 January 2026, including the administration of SC on behalf of partner agencies. The Service Contract policy continues to be in effect only for the existing residual cases, and it will be abolished as soon as all remaining contracts are completed by 31 December 2026. The policy has been updated in the Engagement of a Service Contract Holder sub-section to reflect that paragraphs 33-41 are no longer in effect, as the Service Contract modality is discontinued and no new engagements of Service Contract are permitted as of 1 January 2026.

Guidance on Competitive Selection Procedures for PSAs

Document Type

Guide

Effective Date

Jan 01, 2026

Planned Review Date

Jan 01, 2029

Published in:

Protection against Retaliation

Effective Date

Dec 31, 2025

Summary of Changes

The UNDP Policy For Protection Against Retaliation (PaR) has been updated to include a target 45-day timeline for the Ethics Office to conclude its independent evaluation of a completed OAI retaliation investigation.  Noting that the policy did not previously contain any target timeline for the Ethics Office to conclude its assessment of a OAI retaliation investigation, the inclusion of the 45-day target timeline provides greater procedural clarity for PaR complainants.

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