Salary policy

With the growth of CartONG, it has proved necessary to define a clear policy for the compensation of our staff. This process was undertaken in 2019, and the resulting policy was adopted by the board and is being enforced from January 2020 onwards.

The objectives of this policy are the following:

• Compensate staff with equity, setting salaries based on objective criteria

• Being transparent internally, and externally (for our donors, partners, and job applicants)

• Keeping a ratio of a (approximately) 2 between minimal and maximum base salary (cf. below)

• Being consistent with existing compensation practices in similar organizations and in the sector

• For practical reasons, taking into account previously existing practices

This salary grid is based on the French law where we are incorporated. It applies to all employees with a French-based employment contract (even if the employee leaves abroad). It doesn’t apply to our consultants incorporated abroad since the cost of life and status differences (including which additional taxes they need to pay) are too important to fit them all in a single grid; however we try to apply equally fair criteria when negotiating the rates of consultants. It also of course doesn’t apply to consultants based in France. The grid finally doesn’t apply to specific status with legally-set compensations (interns, service civique).

The main criteria taken into accounts are the following:

• Seniority, first within CartONG and also in similar positions, to acknowledge both experience and age in itself

• Responsibilities in the organization, both coming from managerial and from crosscutting responsibilities.

• Since all employees are currently based in France or in countries with a similar cost of living (Germany), and remote working is based on employees’ personal wishes, no geographical correction is applied.

• In order to promote equality within the team, there is only one salary grid regardless of the area of work (technical or support, except for assistants).

• The grid doesn’t allow for neither individual or team bonuses based on performances, which should be acknowledged via additional responsibilities, nor does it allow for individual negotiations. As an organization with a mission we are aiming at providing other incentives for employees than just their pay level.

• There is no specific gratification for staff deployed in the field since given the (relatively short) length and conditions of missions, they don’t create additional costs for employees (outside of fees reimbursement, covered separately as per our internal policy).

The core salary grid is based on the standard CartONG working time at 39 hours/week, i.e. including 4 extra hours paid as such (+25%) compared to the French standard working time of 35 hours/week. The salaries of employees working a reduced schedule (whether 35 h/week or less) are therefore calculated pro rata based on the 39 h/week amount.
All salaries expressed here are gross salaries (brut): in France the net salary varies based on individual situations but the ratio is usually around 80% of the gross salary (this is before the revenue tax, deducted on top of it). Apart from the salary, all employee benefit from CartONG covering 61% of the additional health insurance (complémentaire santé; social security, pensions and all other benefits’ social contributions are already included in the gross salary) as well as 50% of their commuting pass.

The grid level is calculated based on 1 year of seniority = 1 grid level (with the exception of the 1st level, which covers 0 to 1.99 years’ seniority)

Seniority is accounted at 100% for experience gained at CartONG (including internships, consultancies, etc.) to reward loyalty to the organization.

Seniority at similar position outside of CartONG is accounted at 75% of its value, including all staff contracts (employee, consultant, apprenticeship, but not internship, service civique or unpaid volunteering).

The grid is therefore targeting a ratio of around 2 between minimal and maximum base salary, with a faster raise rhythm at start to encourage employees to commit with our organization. The grid published here is therefore simplified after 10 years of seniority, but raises are still applied yearly then.

An additional amount is added to the base salary for employees with the following responsibilities as part of their Terms of Reference. These additional amounts are not cumulative for employees having several “hats” (the highest is applied):

• Line manager: 50€
• Coordinator / Technical lead / Product owner: 100€
• Project manager / Portfolio manager / Support function manager: 150€

Upon their arrival, each employee’s experience is evaluated based on the rules stated above, and their salary re-evaluated after contract change/extension. For permanent employees (CDI), salaries are then re-evaluated on a yearly basis following seniority rules, or on the following month for new responsibilities.

The reference point on which all the salary levels showed in the grid are calculated is negotiated yearly by CartONG’s employee’s representatives (CSE) and management, taking into account the evolution of cost of living as well as the overall financial situation of the association.