Benefits & Allowances

Benefits and allowances offered to employees of the Global Fund hired on or after 1 July 2019 include:

Roles at the Global Fund are classified by grade levels, with grade level A being entry level and grade level G the most senior level. Refer to the Employee Benefits and Allowances Eligibility table for which benefits and allowances apply to which employee grades, types and nationalities:

  • Employee Benefits and Allowances Eligibility
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When any employee joins the Global Fund, the organization will obtain for them from the Swiss government a “carte de légitimation,” which is a special authorization to live and work in Switzerland that is only granted to employees of international organizations. More information is on the Working for the Global Fund page.


Annual Leave

The annual leave entitlement for full-time employees is 30 working days in a full calendar year.

Base Salary

Global Fund salaries are paid net of tax in Switzerland and exclusive of allowances. Salaries are paid monthly in arrears in Swiss francs (CHF). The cost of living in Geneva has been factored into the basic salary ranges for each grade level.

Child Allowance

Child allowance is paid monthly for each recognized dependent child of the employee up to the age of 18. A cap applies per family.

Education Grant

This grant is provided to eligible employees to help meet part of the extra costs faced in providing children with an education that will enable them to assimilate back into their own country. The education grant is payable for children in mandatory full-time education up to the end of the scholastic year in which the child reaches age 18 or up to 28 if the child has special needs. The grant is paid in Swiss francs and there is a cap per family.

Expatriate Premium

The expatiate premium is a two-year settling in allowance that provides additional financial support for eligible employees and their recognized dependents (spouse/domestic partner and/or dependent children) to meet shorter term costs associated with settling into a foreign country.

The annual amount of the expatriate premium is calculated as a percentage of the reference salary* and is dependent upon the nationality of the employee as recognized by the Global Fund.

Global Fund Provident Fund

The Global Fund Provident Fund is a cash-balance retirement scheme that provides retirement, death and disability benefits for employees and their dependents and/or beneficiaries. Membership in the Provident Fund is mandatory for all employees of the Global Fund with contracts of three months or longer.

The Provident Fund is funded through employer and employee contributions based on an employee’s pensionable remuneration. The investment return for this established cash balance scheme is subject to a guaranteed minimum rate of return. Employees will contribute 7.9% of their pensionable remuneration and the Global Fund an additional 15.8%, for a total of 23.7% of employees’ pensionable remuneration which covers retirement, death and disability insurance and administration costs.

Health and Other Insurances

The Global Fund offers an attractive insurance package to assist employees in meeting the financial costs of health care for them and their recognized spouse/domestic partner and dependent children. Membership in the employee health insurance plan is mandatory for all employees of the Global Fund.

The Global Fund also provides financial support to employees or their eligible dependents in case of death or disability.

Official Holidays

In addition to the annual leave entitlement, the Global Fund recognizes eleven official holidays per year, of which nine are determined by the Global Fund following the most commonly observed holidays in Geneva.

The remaining two days are considered “discretionary days” and may be applied by the employee to reflect the different religions and nationalities of the Global Fund workforce.

Relocation Benefits

Relocation benefits and allowances are payable to eligible employees and their accompanying spouse/recognized domestic partner and/or dependent children who relocate a distance of 75 km or more to take up employment with the Global Fund. Relocation benefits vary by length of contract.

  • Relocation travel: The Global Fund makes travel arrangements for eligible employees from place of recruitment to Geneva.
  • Removal and shipment: The Global Fund will engage the services of an international removals company to organize the move to Geneva on behalf of the eligible employee within a gross weight/volume entitlement. Eligible employees may also opt for the lump-sum removal allowance in lieu of the assisted removal and shipment (the employee receives a lump-sum cash payment and is responsible for managing the relocation of his/her household and personal effects without assistance from the Global Fund).
  • Installation: This grant is intended to cover any additional costs of taking up residence in Geneva and any pre-departure expenses incurred. This grant is equivalent to one month’s reference salary* for the eligible employee and 50% of one month’s reference salary for the employee’s spouse/recognized domestic partner and each dependent child who relocates with the employee for a minimum period of six months.

The Global Fund also provides assistance with housing and school search for eligible employees.

Special Needs Child Allowance

This allowance is payable to employees whose dependent child has special needs. An assessment of the disability will be required. A special needs child allowance is twice the regular child allowance payment with an age limit of 21 years old. A cap applies per family.

Tax Equalization

Global Fund salaries are exempt from taxation in Switzerland under the Global Fund's Headquarters Agreement with the Swiss Federal Council. However, Global Fund income may be taken into account by the tax authorities in determining the tax rate on non-Global Fund income (such as spousal income) - the resulting incremental tax is not reimbursed by the Global Fund.

There are, however, some categories of employees who may be subject to tax on their Global Fund income. In this case, employees with contracts of three months or more may be eligible to receive a tax allowance under the Global Fund Tax Equalization Policy. This policy applies to the following employees joining the Global Fund:

  • Employees subject to a worldwide income tax system (such as U.S. citizens and green card holders).
  • Employees who are subject to taxation and/or social security on Global Fund income in any country as a result of work duties performed in that country, provided they are residing in Switzerland.

If an employee is eligible, a tax allowance is paid to the employee in Swiss francs to compensate for any taxes due on their Global Fund income.

Note that employees who choose to live in France on taking up employment with the Global Fund may be subject to French taxes and are not covered by the Tax Equalization Policy.


* The Global Fund reference salary is currently CHF 103,600 p.a.

Not all benefits and allowances listed apply to all types of contracts. Benefits and allowances may change at any time.