Why do these records need care?
Many NGOs employ national staff, hired in the country where they work, and international staff, hired from elsewhere and placed abroad. The two groups often differ in pay, benefits, housing, travel and security support. Some differences have good reasons. Others grow from habit. If records are kept differently, unfair differences hide.
Fair records let you answer two questions: are we treating people the same where we should, and can we explain the differences where we do not?
What should every record hold?
Use the same core for everyone:
- Name, designation, duty station and line manager.
- Contract type, start date and end date.
- Employing entity and work location.
- Leave balance and history.
- Performance reviews and training.
- Emergency contact.
- Signed policies, such as the code of conduct.
If the core is the same, you can compare across groups and spot gaps.
What differs by status?
Add these only where they apply:
| Item | Often relevant to |
|---|---|
| Passport, visa, work permit and expiry dates | International staff, and some national staff from other countries |
| Relocation, housing and travel terms | International staff |
| Local social security and tax notes | Depends on the law of the work location |
| Home leave or rest and recuperation | Staff in hardship posts |
| Dependants and their documents | Where the contract covers family |
Track every permit and visa with an expiry date, and set reminders well ahead, since a lapsed permit can stop someone working or travelling. Tax and social contribution rules vary by country; get local advice.
How do you keep treatment fair?
Make the following the same for everyone:
- The leave process and the review cycle.
- The grievance and disciplinary procedure.
- The right to training and development.
- Safeguarding duties and the code of conduct.
- Safety planning, with plans suited to each person’s real risk.
Where you differ, write the reason in policy. Check the pattern once a year: look at who is promoted, who gets training, and how reviews are scored, split by group. Our guide to managing leave across offices uses the same layered logic.
Who should see what?
Not every manager needs the whole file. Split the record into sections, such as personal details, employment, family, documents and reporting line, and grant access by role. A line manager may see employment and reporting line. HR may see all. Pay data sits behind its own permission. Identity documents need tight control. Limit access, because staff data is sensitive and national data protection laws may apply.
How do you review differences?
Once a year, HR and finance review:
- Pay scales and benefits by group, against written policy.
- Whether any difference is still justified.
- Local law changes.
- Permit and visa expiries for the coming year.
Record the decision and the date. If a difference cannot be explained, change it or explain it.
Mistakes to watch for
- Two systems, two standards. Headquarters keeps international files in one place and country offices keep national files in another, with different detail. Merge the structure, even if access differs.
- Missing expiry dates. A permit that lapses unnoticed can stop a person working. Keep every date visible and reviewed monthly.
- Pay set by habit. Show how each band or allowance was decided. If you cannot, review it.
- Open access to sensitive fields. Salary, family and identity documents need tight limits.
- Ignoring national staff for training and promotion. Check that national staff can reach senior roles, and note any barrier you find.
Treat the records as a way to see the whole workforce clearly. When leaders can look at the same fields for every person, they can ask better questions about fairness, and answer donors and staff with facts.
Be careful with language, too. Terms such as “expatriate” or “local” can carry weight in some places. Use the plain terms in your policy, define them once and use them the same way in every document. Ask staff in different offices whether the terms feel fair, and adjust if they do not.
Where EMPOBase fits
EMPOBase’s Staff Directory in the People & HR module keeps name, designation, duty station, line manager, contract type and contract end, with per-section profile access, so a manager sees only the sections their role allows. Passports, national IDs, work permits and visas are tracked with expiry dates, and HR can export CSV per station. Pay grades and salary records sit behind compensation permissions. EMPOBase does not compute payroll tax or social contributions, so those stay with your local process. See the documentation.