Is a global benefits floor realistic for an NGO working in 40 countries?

Medical is where the money goes and where a single standard does not travel. In several of our countries there is no insurer who will cover dependants at a price a project budget can bear. We defined the floor as an outcome, meaning access to inpatient and maternity care for staff, spouse and up to four children, and let each office meet it by insurance, a self-funded scheme or a clinic contract.

On leave, our compromise was 16 weeks for the birth parent everywhere, since leave has no cash premium, but we underestimated cover costs in small field offices where one absence is a quarter of the team. Budget for backfill or the policy will be resented by the colleagues left behind.