Our Policies

The safety and dignity of our staff and the people who take part in our programmes has always been of paramount importance. News concerning abuse and sexual misconduct by NGO workers - in particular the sex scandals uncovered in Haiti during February 2018 - continued to impact upon the humanitarian sector throughout 2019.

Both MFA and inter-agency guidelines require NGOs to uphold standards relating to protection from sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA). War Child met this commitment in full over the course of the year.

The fourth quarter of the year also saw us bolster existing protection mechanisms with the introduction of our comprehensive Integrity Framework. Strategic responses from other NGOs and guidance from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) informed this process.

The framework includes an updated Child Safeguarding Policy - making our commitments to Article 19 of the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child manifest. Breaches of this policy inside our countries of operation can be found here.

Remuneration Policy

The remuneration policy of War Child and the Supervisory Board enables us to attract, motivate and retain qualified expert leaders as well as senior staff members and other highly talented individuals. The policy also works to fulfil all the requirements of stakeholders and maintain an adequate risk profile. As a matter of principle, the low cost principle is also applicable to our remuneration policy. Each function has a corresponding salary grid based on experience, educational level and responsibility. While we do not provide variable performance related incentives to staff, every year salaries are subject to inflation rate compensation. War Child also provides several secondary terms of employment to staff including holiday entitlements and pension rights.

Remuneration Managing Director

In determining its remuneration policy, War Child follows guidelines set up by Goede Doelen Nederland. The scheme sets out a maximum recommended level of annual remuneration for the managing director according to an index of professional criteria. The weighing of the situation at War Child leads to a so-called BSD score of 520 points.

The actual annual salary with holiday allowance for Tjipke Bergsma was €114,198, and the pension contribution was €23,457, adding up to a total amount of €137,655 for the managing director’s remuneration and benefits in 2019. This is within the applicable limits. The amount and composition of the remuneration package are explained in the financial statements in the Further Notes to the Annual Accounts.