| Candidate Assessment | Allows informed decision-making by the employee and family as to the likely success of an international assignment. Can help protect the company's return on investment as de-selection by the employee is preferable to a failed assignment. |
| Base Salary | Company policy regarding base salary, incentives, merit increases, and anticipated payroll practices should be outlined in policy.
|
| Employee Benefits | Companies may address changes to medical or other benefits in this section.
|
Working Hours, Public Holidays and Vacation
| The working hours and public holidays of the host location are usually followed while on assignment. Most commonly, home country vacation/paid time off policies continue to apply, though some companies will provide the better of home or host vacation time or may provide additional days off for home leave (and R&R, if applicable) trips.
|
Repayment Agreement
| Requires repayment of all or a portion of the incurred relocation and assignment-related expenses if employment is terminated within a specific period, most commonly the first 1-2 years of the assignment. Enforceability depends on host country law; helps protect the company's assignment investment. A separate agreement may also be applied to repatriation expenses.
|
Immigration Assistance
| Assistance provided to obtain passports, work permits, visas, and other documentation for the employee to legally work and live in the host country. Typically, coverage for accompanying family includes any documentation needed to legally enter and live in the host country; work permits for spouse/partner are dependent on company culture and host country laws but are not commonly provided.
|
Tax Counseling
| Helps the employee and spouse/partner understand the financial implications/tax impact in both the home and host country of an international long-term assignment. May be provided by the company's tax firm before departure, upon arrival and at assignment end.
|
| Medical Examinations | Coverage for medical examinations and required inoculations for the employee and accompanying family, especially if health certifications are required by the host country. |
| Security Briefing | Depending on location and available company resources, provide a briefing to help employee and family understand safety and security procedures and emergency protocols.
|
Miscellaneous Expense Allowance (MEA)
| An allowance provided to assist with assignment-related expenses not covered elsewhere in policy. Often based on one month’s salary but can be a flat amount. It is best practice to cap the amount and include a list of items in policy for which the MEA is intended to be used.
|
| Pre-Assignment Trip | Provided to the employee and spouse/partner to find assignment housing and set realistic expectations of the host location. Provides the opportunity for area orientation and can help reduce the need for temporary living upon arrival. Specific trip parameters should be included in the policy to help contain costs. For certain locations, this trip may be offered before final assignment acceptance to allow for informed decision making.
|
| Destination Services | Provided by a local destination services provider, speeds acclimation for the employee and family. Services can include area familiarization, home finding, school orientation, and settling-in assistance.
|
| Language Training | Offered to the employee and spouse/partner when needed. Can be a critical component to a successful transition, especially for the spouse/partner. Generally offered both pre- and post-arrival; cost efficient online/virtual options are available.
|
| Cultural Training | Essential to prepare the employee and family for life in a different cultural environment as effective cultural integration plays an integral role in assimilation. Online/virtual options are available.
|
| Home Country Housing | Support for home country housing is declining unless it is known at time of expatriation that the employee will not be returning to the point of origin. If home country housing support is provided, the most common coverage is property management assistance or an allowance to homeowners and/or lease cancellation coverage for renters. Caps are encouraged to contain costs. See also Storage: Home Country and Home Housing Norm.
|
| Home Country Automobile: Loss on Sale | Support for home country automobile varies based on home country car policies and culture. When offered, the most common coverage is for up to 2 cars (one if single/unaccompanied; 2 if accompanied and family used 2 cars in home location). Options may include loss on sale calculation defined as the difference between actual sale price and established retail value, lease cancellation or a flat allowance. If reimbursing, a cap per car is recommended to help contain costs.
|
| Shipment of Household Goods | Coverage is generally based on the type of assignment housing (furnished vs. unfurnished) and accompanying family size. If furnished housing, only an air shipment or reimbursement of excess baggage may be provided. If unfurnished housing, both an air shipment and a surface/sea shipment may be provided. Best practice is to stipulate limits in policy, including a list of items that will not be shipped and services that will not be provided. In lieu of a household goods shipment, some companies may provide an allowance option. Unavoidable storage in transit provided as needed for 30-60 days when goods are shipped.
|
| Home Country Storage | Support for home country storage is declining but tied to benefits for home country housing support. If offered, coverage is for the duration of the assignment and for 30-60 days at assignment end.
|
| Pet Transportation | Inclusion/exclusion in policy is highly dependent on company culture. If included, usually limited to household pets, such as dogs and cats. May be offered as a reimbursement, allowance or through a pet shipment provider. Limiting the number of pets and including a monetary cap will help contain costs.
|
| Temporary Living | Provided in both the home and host locations, usually for 30-60 days total. Along with lodging, companies may reimburse for parking and meals during the temporary living period.
|
| Travel to the Host Location | Coverage for the expenses for the employee and accompanying family to travel to the host location. Specific coverage details should be listed in the policy to help reduce exceptions and contain costs. Travel expenses such as airfare may or may not be aligned with company travel policy.
|
| Host Housing Assistance | A housing allowance is determined by an independent data provider and is based on employee's salary and family size. Payment may be made directly to the landlord or to the employee, whichever is most tax efficient. It is not intended to replicate home country housing.
|
| Host Furnishings/Appliances | May be provided at Company discretion and based on host country housing and/or shipping circumstances. Needed furnishings can be rented, reimbursed, or provided via allowance, as applicable. Caps help contain costs.
|
| Host Location Transportation | Depends on host location practices and company policy. A company car, leased vehicle or transportation allowance may be provided for the assignment. Reimbursement of a rental car or a transportation allowance may be provided upon arrival for 2-4 weeks to give the employee time to purchase a car.
|
| Goods and Services Differential | Also known as Cost of Living Allowance/Assistance. An allowance to help offset the higher cost of goods and services in the host location while on assignment. Commonly determined by an international data provider and based on the differential in costs between the home and host locations for the employee's income level and family size. Most companies do not apply a negative differential but may cap salary for cost containment. Payment usually starts upon arrival in assignment housing.
|
| Home Housing Norm | A deduction from employee's pay that represents their contribution toward host housing. Dependent on company philosophy and used less frequently than in the past. The cost offset for elimination of the deduction is no support for home country housing and storage (and often home country vehicles). The company then provides full support for host location housing. If the norm is deducted, calculated by an independent data provider based on employee's income and family size.
|
| Location Allowance | Provided at company discretion for certain hardship locations to assist with extra costs that may be needed to acclimate. Hardship data is often provided by the company’s international data provider and the allowance is typically based on a percentage of salary paid while the employee is in their assignment housing. Companies may cap for cost containment.
|
| Education Assistance | When local host location schools do not meet home country schooling standards, companies will provide reimbursement for tuition and required registration/enrollment fees for private or international primary and secondary schooling for accompanying children. Many companies specify a beginning age limit (such as age 4 or 5), since primary school starting ages can vary widely. Pre-school (year prior to primary school) coverage varies greatly but most companies do not cover day care expenses.
|
| Non-Accompanying Dependent Trave | If unmarried dependent children do not accompany the employee, most companies will reimburse 1-2 trips for the child(ren) to visit the host location. Stipulating an age limit among other parameters such as limiting to economy/coach class airfare helps contain costs.
|
| Home Leave | Accompanied employees are commonly provided one home leave annually. Round trip travel (airfare, mileage, train fare) to the leave location and ground transportation to/from airport/train station are usually reimbursed. An allowance can also be considered. Companies vary in terms of the leave location, with some requiring leave to be taken at the point of origin. Others allow alternate locations, as long as the cost is equivalent.
|
| Rest and Relaxation (R&R) Leave | For some hardship locations, companies may provide an additional short leave to a pre-determined regional location on an annual basis. Round trip travel (airfare, mileage, train fare) to the leave location and ground transportation to/from airport/train station are usually reimbursed. An allowance can also be considered.
|
| Emergency Leave/Evacuation | Policies will define circumstances when the employee/family will be provided with leave for specified emergencies in the home location, and emergency evacuations from the host location.
|
Spouse/Partner or Family Support
| Companies may provide transition assistance from a third-party provider to help the spouse/partner find employment or help transition to the host location. In some cases, companies may provide work permit assistance (where available) or an allowance payment.
|
| Repatriation Integration program | Often provided for longer-term assignments (such as over 3 years) but can be helpful for shorter assignments as well. Addresses issues such as reverse culture shock, provides transition strategies, and helps the employee leverage newly acquired global skills in the home (space) work location. Online/virtual options are available.
|
| Departure Services | Provided at assignment end by the local destination services provider to assist with lease termination and deposit recovery, disconnection of utilities, de-registration with local authorities, etc.
|
| Return Shipment of Household goods | Usually follows the same parameters as at expatriation. If an allowance was provided at expatriation, a return shipment is not provided.
|
| Return Travel | Usually follows the same parameters as at expatriation.
|
| Repatriation Temporary Living | Usually follows the same parameters as at expatriation. A rental car may be provided for a limited time (usually up to 30 days) to allow employee to secure transportation.
|
| Repatriation Miscellaneous Allowance | Provided by some companies to cover incidental repatriation expenses not covered by policy. Can be the same amount as at expatriation, or a reduced % of the initial allowance.
|
| Tax Return Preparation | Provided for the tax years of the assignment and any subsequent years if there is residual assignment-related income; usually includes tax return preparation for the home and host countries, as required.
|
| Tax Equalization | Many companies provide tax equalization for any assignment-related tax liabilities that the employee may incur. Alternatively, tax assistance may be provided.
|