A contract is the only promise that counts. Everything HR said on the phone and everything the panel implied is gone if it is not in the document you sign. Ask for the contract at least a day before the signing meeting, read it at home, and bring your questions in writing. Nobody serious minds; many HR officers are relieved when a candidate actually reads it.
- Duration: start date, end date, and whether renewal “depends on funding”. Most NGO contracts run 6 to 12 months, tied to the project.
- Probation: usually three months, sometimes six. Know what happens at the end (a written review) and what notice applies during it, often one week.
- Notice period after probation: one month is common. Check it is the same for you and for them.
- Salary and every allowance in writing, with the currency, gross or net, and the pay day. An allowance agreed by phone must be a line in the contract.
- Per diem and field rules: the daily rate, what counts as a field day, and how it is claimed.
- Deductions: income tax and any pension or provident fund contribution, as percentages, and what the employer adds on top.
- Working days and hours: Saturday to Thursday is common, some offices work Sunday to Thursday. Overtime rules, if any.
Also check leave (annual, sick, maternity or paternity, Eid), medical cover if any, and the code of conduct and safeguarding policy you are agreeing to. For NGO posts the safeguarding policy is not decoration: breaking it ends the contract. Read it.
Four questions to bring to the signing meeting, written down so that you do not forget them:
- “Is renewal likely, and when would I know?”
- “Which deductions apply, at what percentage, and what does the organisation contribute?”
- “Is the transport allowance we discussed included here?”
- “Who signs my probation review, and when?”