Daf accommodation fund rules

HR - Accommodations Page 1 of 8

Staff Connections - World Bank Intranet

Accommodations
eMail
Click to e-mail

FY09 Guidelines Coming Soon...

The World Bank Group is committed to creating a supportive workplace for people with disabilities that enables
them to fulfill their job responsibilities while fully utilizing and developing their capacities. Initiatives to date include
programs to ensure accessibility of facilities and information technologies, and reimbursement of accommodations
costs through a central Disability Accommodation Fund (DAF).

 Overview

 Key Principles
 Eligibility
 Definitions (Disability, Accommodation, Accommodations that are 'reasonable', Eligible
Accommodation)

 Types of Accommodations

 Personal Assistants of Staff with Significant Disabilities:
 Determination of Needs
 Terms of Reference
 Appointment Types
 Reimbursement for Personal Assistants
 Application and Approval Procedures
 Small- Scale Accommodations/Disabilities Accommodation Fund
 Eligible Items
 Reimbursement for Small-Scale Accommodations
 Application and Approval Procedure

Key Principles

All of the Bank Group’s initiatives in this area are guided by several key principles:

1. Staff with disabilities should be enabled to perform their work at the same level as non-disabled staff. They
should not receive preferential treatment based on their disabilities.

2. There should be no additional cost to the unit for hiring a person with disabilities. Accommodations
determined to be reasonable (see definitions) are eligible for reimbursement from the DAF.

3. The Bank Group makes the determination of eligibility and reasonable accommodations to be provided.
The needs of each person have to be assessed individually to determine the type, duration and extent of
accommodation. The Bank Group reserves the right to periodically reassess eligibility and needs based on
scope of work, health conditions (e.g., degenerative conditions) and other factors.

4. Accommodations are work-related, and cover time spent at the office or on official business including
mission travel, or at home if an approved telecommuting arrangement is in effect. Assistants are not to be
used for personal errands or as substitutes for assistants outside the workplace.

5. All accommodations need to be delivered within the Bank’s existing employment and procurement
frameworks.

http://intranet.worldbank.org/WBSITE/INTRANET/UNITS/HR/0,,print:Y~isCURL:Y~c... 12/28/2009


Eligibility

The Bank Group’s accommodation programs cover all staff in Washington and Country Offices. Eligible
staff includes:

 Regular, term- and open-ended staff; extended-term consultants (ETCs), extended-term
temporaries (ETTs), short-term consultants (STCs), short-term temporaries (STTs), and ED
Assistants.

 Staff with permanent or temporarily-disabling conditions (e.g., recovering from injury, surgery).

-Prospective staff, for recruitment-related accommodations (e.g., interviews).

-Clients conducting official Bank business (e.g., engaging in negotiations).

Contractor staff and temporary staff hired through outside agencies are not included. For staff on
special assignments or funded through trust funds, the party responsible for the cost of
accommodations needs to be defined at the time of their hiring by the Bank Group.

The Bank Group ensures the accessibility of large-scale events such as major conferences (e.g.,
provision of closed-captioning or sign-language interpretation), but does not provide accommodations
for individuals attending such events. Accessibility of small-scale events and accommodation of
individual guests attending Bank-sponsored events are the responsibility of the organizing or
sponsoring unit, and should be built into their work-program budget.

Definitions

Disability: For general purposes and the specific purpose of the Disability Accommodation Fund
(DAF), a person is considered to have a disability if s/he has a short- or long-term visible or
professionally documented condition that substantially limits his/her ability to perform one or
more of the major activities related to job duties. Major activities related to job duties are those
which the Bank Group might reasonably call upon a staff member to perform, and for which s/he is
qualified by education, training or experience. Other definitions of disability apply for other specific
purposes, such as assessment of fitness for duty under Staff Rule 7.01, and short- and long-term
disability insurance determinations for eligible staff under Staff Rule 6.22.

Accommodation: A product or service that enables a person with disabilities to perform in a work
situation at the same level as a person who is not disabled.

Accommodations that are ‘reasonable’: Within the framework of the Principles of Staff Employment
and the Staff Rules, the Bank Group relies on a combination of cost, business needs and common-
sense judgment to determine reasonableness. Accounting procedures and HR policies also provide
guidelines.

Eligible Accommodations: Products or services for which the hiring unit can receive reimbursement
from the DAF. If an accommodation is determined not to be reasonable, the request may be rejected in
part or in full; the DAF will reimburse only the portion approved, if any, and the hiring unit will have to
bear the unapproved expenses.



Personal Assistants for Staff with Significant Disabilities

The Bank Group may provide, where reasonable, personal assistants to staff with significant disabilities
related to mobility, vision or hearing, to help with tasks related to delivery of the work program and
functioning in the workplace. These may include readers or guides for blind staff; note-takers or sign-
language interpreters for deaf staff; and help with tasks including personal hygiene for wheelchair
users, especially while on mission travel.

Determination of Needs

The need for personal assistance can vary among people with the same disability, and depends on the
nature and extent of the disability, and the type of assistance used. Determination of the level and type
of assistance will be made by a combination of HRS, the manager and HSD if necessary, in
consultation with the disabled staff member. In all cases the Bank Group retains discretion to
determine what accommodations, if any, may be reasonable in each case. Each individual should be
assessed to determine:

The type of assistance. This has to be determined on a case-by-case basis. A blind person who uses
a seeing-eye dog or cane may not need a guide; one who uses adaptive technology, may not need a
full-time reader. The needs of a deaf or hearing-impaired person will depend on whether s/he uses sign
language, reads lips or uses an adaptive device. Wheelchair users with adequate upper-arm strength
may be able to meet their own personal-hygiene needs, and may not need a full-time assistant (but still
need assistance on travel).

Degree of assistance. The Bank Group may determine whether a full- or part-time assistant is
needed. Personal assistants will be reimbursed by the Disability Accommodation Fund for
accommodation-related support only (i.e., support required as a direct consequence of the disability in
order to perform one or more of the major activities related to job duties). If the assistant performs
regular ACS work for the disabled staffperson or others in the unit, the unit will bear the cost of the non-
accommodation work (i.e, reimbursement may be pro-rated). A full-time assistant may be shared
among several disabled staff (e.g., a sign-language interpreter for several deaf people with intermittent
needs). Determination of the extent of assistance required should be based on the nature of the job,
business needs, the frequency of duties listed in the job description and the availability of adaptive
technologies.

Terms of Reference

The development of a TOR for a personal assistant must be done jointly by HR and the manager, in
consultation with the disabled staff, and with HSD if necessary. All TORs for personal assistants must
be reviewed by an HR Officer or HR Team Manager to ensure that the job and skills requirements
match the grading, appointment type, etc. If reimbursement for the position is requested from the
Disabilities Accommodation Fund, the TOR must be reviewed by the HRS Chief Administrative Officer,
to ensure that all of the tasks are accommodation-related (if not, reimbursement may be prorated).

In general, the work of personal assistants is conducted in the workplace. If the assistant is to
accompany the staff to/from work, it should be stated clearly in the TOR, and built into the working
hours; however, transportation assistance is “door-to-door”—the assistant is not to provide any
services in the home of the disabled staff). If the assistant is expected to accompany the staff to official
events after normal working hours, an estimate of the frequency should be provided in the job
description, and arrangements for overtime agreed in advance.

Requirements for certification and/or training need to be stated in the job requirements. These may
include: certification in sign-language interpretation or use of specialized equipment that the disabled



staff is not able to operate independently.

For assistants helping staff with significant disabilities with personal hygiene: the assistant is
not to provide medical care, but may observe and report to the staff with disabilities any condition
which might need referral for medical attention. The TOR of such assistants should clearly state that
these functions are part of the job, and add language to the effect of, “assistance with personal hygiene
may include lifting efforts and exposure to biohazards. The assistant can receive a specific training for
these tasks if needed after hiring.”

For assistants with access to confidential documents: the following should be added to all TORs--
The Personal Assistant may be granted access to confidential e-mails and documents, including salary
and other HR-related data relevant to the work of the disabled staff member. The assistant is expected
to respect the confidentiality of such materials.

Appointment Types

Depending on the need and nature of the assistance required, as determined by the Bank Group,
personal assistants can be hired, on an hourly, daily or a more long-term basis, up to a 4-year term
contract. Wherever possible, contingent staff (STT, ETC) should be used).

Personal assistants to staff with significant disabilities are considered semi-specialized ACS positions,
except for sign-language interpreters, who require training and should be licensed. Assistants to
mobility-impaired individuals may provide non-traditional assistance in addition to more usual ACS
tasks (e.g, help with personal hygiene).

Assistants should be hired as a STT, ETT or a term appointment up to a level GC. In extraordinary
cases where the need for a high level of technical expertise is demonstrated by the staff and his/her
manager, the assistant may be hired at a level D with HR concurrence (if HR does not concur, the
Disability Accommodation Fund reimbursement will be for a level C position only).

Examples of Disabilities and Types of Assistance

Type of
Type of Assistance/Skills Profile Level
Disability

Note-taker: ACS (may need some
Deafness C
technical vocabulary)

Sign-language interpreter:
Deafness N/A
Specialized (non-ACS)

Reader: ACS (may need technical
Blindness C
vocabulary)

Blindness Guide: Non-specialized ACS B,C

Personal Assistant: Non-
specialized ACS for office-related
Mobility tasks B,C
Semi-specialized for personal-
hygiene related tasks



NB: Expertise in disabilities issues is not required for any assistant job.

The appointment type of the assistant, to be determined by the manager with HR approval, should
correspond as closely as possible to the appointment type of the disabled staff:

 STT for a disabled STC or accompanying staff on mission travel (for the same number of days
as the disabled STC)

 ETT for a disabled ETC or ETT

 ETT or term appointment for a disabled term-appointed staff

 ETT or term appointment for open-ended staff

All personal assistant appointments are coterminous with the appointment of the disabled staff; that is,
the duration of an assistant appointment will not exceed that of the disabled staff’s appointment.
Should the disabled staff leave the Bank, the position of the assistant will become redundant;
severance, if any, will follow Bank rules for each appointment type. If the hiring unit decides to keep the
assistant for other job functions, it will be at the expense of the unit. Term- or open-ended staff already
in the Bank may be hired into personal assistant positions with the following conditions:

 Term-appointed assistants are not entitled to an open-ended appointment if they are hired to
assist an open-ended staff or the person they are assisting is converted to an open-ended
position.

 Term-appointed assistants to disabled staff in time-bound positions are not guaranteed
employment beyond the duration of the disabled staff member’s contract

 Open-ended staff hired to assist staff in time-bound positions will be expected to find another
position when the employment of the disabled staff ends, as the position will become redundant.

Reimbursement for Personal Assistants

The DAF provides reimbursement to hiring units for salary, benefits where applicable, and travel
expenses of staff who are hired to provide disabilities-related personal assistance. Reimbursement will
cover only the portion of time devoted directly to the work of assisting disabled staff with disabilities-
related functions.

Salary
Assistants are hired and reimbursed according to the following guidelines:

 Term appointments: within the GC salary range.

 ETTs: The equivalent of a level B or C

 STTs: HQ-based or accompanying HQ-based staff on mission: $200/day maximum; CO-based:
approved daily maximum will be based on the local labor market. Occasional assistance paid on
an hourly rate: in HQ will be covered up to the market reference point of the T2 STT category
(for FY06, $15.31/hour net or $19.38/hour gross); in Country Offices the approved daily
maximum payments from the fund will be based on the local labor market.

Travel expenses
Reimbursement will cover the airfare and travel expenses of personal assistants who provide
disabilities-related assistance. The fund will pay:



 Only for travel from the same venue in which the disabled staff is based (e.g., it will not pay for
travel to and from Washington for a person who will assist a Washington-based staff member).

 For a separate room for a personal assistant who is not a family member (i.e., it is assumed that
spouses, parents, children or other close family members will share a room).
For assistance only for the time that the disabled staff member is actually traveling on official
business (i.e., no days in advance or following the mission). Stopovers as approved by Bank
travel policy will be covered.

All requests for travel must be made in advance and entered into SAP. Bank travel policies will apply.
If a close personal family member is to provide personal assistance, a waiver must be obtained in
advance from the Appointments unit.

Application and approval procedures will be as follows:

 The hiring manager completes the on-line form. In cases where staff are being hired, all
documentation should be copied to the relevant HR Officer.

 The HRSVP Chief Administrative Officer (CA) will provide a response to the manager within 10
business days, based on the Bank Group’s determination of accommodation that is reasonable
(approve, decline or more time needed to make a decision).

 Requests for assistance for staff members who have not previously sought funding during a
specific fiscal year will be passed to HSD who will certify that the staff meets the definition of
disabled shown above. For those staff deemed permanently disabled, subsequent requests to
the program for the same staff member will not require an additional HSD clearance.

 New requests for assistance for staff members who have previously been approved for funding
during a specific fiscal year will be approved by the HRSVP CAO in consultation with HSD.
Where repeated requests for assistance with travel and assistant costs are received for a single
staff member, the HRSVP CAO may request the disabled staff to provide information on
additional requests likely to be made during the fiscal year; this information is not binding and
will not replace the actual request.

 Once the request has been approved the arrangement for reimbursement will vary depending
on the nature of the cost being covered:

 Travel and remuneration costs will be charged directly to a charge code that will be
provided at the time of approval (with the requesting unit to create the appropriate SAP
transaction and seek approval from the HRSVP CAO).

 Personal assistants will be assigned to the unit to which the disabled person is assigned.
Should the disabled staff member change unit the assistants also should be reassigned
to the same unit. HRS should be advised of such changes. For term staff, a quarterly
budget transfer will be made by HRS to this unit to cover the salary and benefit costs. For
ETTs, costs will be moved using TRS – it will be up to the ETT and disabled staff to
ensure that TRS is completed on a timely basis. STTs will be charged directly to the
charge code that will be provided at the time of approval (with the requesting unit to
create the appropriate SAP transaction and seek approval from the HRSVP CAO).

 Procurement of services will be done through normal contracting procedures.

Small - Scale Accommodations/Accommodation Fund



The Bank Group may provide, where reasonable, goods and services that enable staff with disabilities
to perform at the same level as their non-disabled peers. Most of these accommodations are small in
terms of cost, but have considerable impact on the ability to do work. Most are reimbursable by the
DAF.

Eligibility

Rental or purchase of goods or services that might be included:

 assistive devices (e.g., larger monitor, TTY software, installation of analog lines,
headpiece/microphone, electromagnetic loop to use with assistive devices in conference rooms,
portable assistive listening devices);

 transportation support and/or parking subsidy for staff with short-term disabilities;

 Brailing of documents or business cards for blind staff.

The fund excludes:

 Recurrent costs and maintenance related to equipment purchased by the Bank Group
Items which are covered by other programs (e.g., the Ergonomics Program, the MIP/MBP):

 infrastructure modifications (e.g., ramps, doors)—these are covered by GSD;

 ergonomic accommodations provided through GSD/HSD;

 items covered under Workers’ Compensation (injury and illness contracted through work)
and medical insurance.

In all cases, the most cost-effective solution will be sought. HSD, GSD and/or ISG will determine
whether rental or purchase is most appropriate. Purchased equipment is Bank property assigned to
staff for their duration of Bank employment (it travels with staff from job to job within the Bank but
reverts to GSD if staff leave). Fixed asset records in SAP, in line with GSD/ACT rules of fixed assets,
will be similarly kept.

Reimbursement for Small-Scale Accommodations

Staff can apply directly to the Disabilities Accommodation Fund (DAF) for reimbursement, but must copy the
manager.

 All requests must be made in advance of the procurement.

 All expenses must be posted to the DAF Internal Order (IO) within 3 months of purchase.

Unless specifically agreed up-front, allocations from the fund will not carry-over to subsequent fiscal years
although staff are free to reapply as long as the items have not already been procured.

Requests must be for work-related accommodations only. Reimbursement of items used for work and personal
purposes may be prorated.

Application and Approval Procedures

 Staff completes on-line form and copies manager.



 Requests will be reviewed by HRS CAO’s office in consultation with HSD and provide a response within 3
business days, based on the Bank Group’s assessment of what accommodations may be reasonable
(approve, decline or more time needed to make a decision).

 Requests of up to $3,000 will be approved by HRSVP CAO in consultation with HSD.

 Requests of over $3,000 will be considered by a Review Committee which will be convened in person or
via email (at least three people, including representatives of HSD, HRSDP and a pool to be drawn from
GSD, ISG and HRS, with advice from LEG as needed; specific approval by GSD, HSD and/or ISG may be
required depending on nature of the request).

 GSD and ISG will be responsible for recommending equipment and suitable vendors in their respective
areas of expertise.

 Once the request has been approved, a charge code (internal order) will be provided to charge the
purchase or rental (with the requesting unit to create/approve the appropriate SAP and advise HRS CAO’s
office when done).

 Procurement of services will be done.

Help • Feedback • Site Map • Publishing Guidelines • IFC • MIGA • IDA • ICSID • WB External Site


Daf accommodation fund rules

Recommandé

Recommandé

Contenu connexe

Similaire à Daf accommodation fund rules

Similaire à Daf accommodation fund rules (20)

Dernier

Dernier (20)

Daf accommodation fund rules