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Report Life Event - Death of a Staff Member in Active Service

 

Summary

This checklist provides a guide for family, managers, and colleagues in the event of the death of a staff member in active service.

Staff Rules

Additional Information

  • HR Operations: hroperations@worldbank.org
  • Health Services: (202) 458-4457 (Bereavement & grief counseling)
  • Pension Administration: (202) 458-2977 (Pension counseling)
  • Tax Specialist: (202) 458-4337 (U.S. tax matters)

Step

Action

 

Action by Staff's Manager

01

Report the death of a staff member in active service to HR Operations:

Monday - Friday: 12:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. (EST)

Sunday: 12:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (EST)

Calls/Messages received on Sundays will be responded to on the same day.

+1 (202) 473-2222 / 5220+32222

After business hours, contact Security Operations Center (SOC) at +1 (202) 458-8888 (collect calls accepted).

02

The sudden or unexpected death of a staff member on mission travel or while on resident assignment is reported to SOC, who in turn will notify the Health Services Department (HSD) medical duty officer. The medical duty officer will notify HR Operations, the country manager/director, and an HSD counselor.

 

Notification of the death of a staff member or dependent on HSD authorized medical evacuation is handled primarily via HSD who will notify HR Operations, the country manager/director, and an HSD counselor.

 

In both these situations, HSD will assist with the repatriation of mortal remains through a medical assistance company and will be the chief focal point of communication for this. HSD may also assist in RMR in cases of sudden or unexpected death of staff on personal travel or staff who are third country nationals. In cases where the CO staff member or dependent need acute medical or counselor services, follow the Overseas Medical Emergency Procedures on Health Services Department page.

In non-urgent cases, contact Field Health Services in Washington D.C.:

Staff residing on the African continent or in the East Asia & Pacific region may contact the HSD regional medical advisors in those regions.

03

If the staff member's family has not yet been informed of the death, they will be notified by a team comprising:

  • the staff member's manager/director/VP.
  • a colleague who knows the deceased staff member well (preferably one who is fluent in the language of the next-of-kin).
  • an HSD counselor.

Preferably, the team members will have undergone training in next-of-kin notification. If this is not possible, the HSD counseling unit should be contacted to provide guidance. Support materials for managers on handling the death of a staff member are provided on Health Services Department website.



Only HR Operations staff should discuss benefits with the dependents listed in Form 1603 for CO staff and Form 1604 for HQ staff.

04

Country manager/director to identify who will liaise with the Human Resources Department (HRD) on the death of the staff member.

 

Country Manager/CO Administrator Duties—For CO Staff

Notify the appropriate external authorities:

  • The appropriate host government authorities (police, ministry of foreign affairs)
  • The deceased staff member's national embassy, if present in the country
  • If the deceased staff member is not a national of the country, the repatriation of mortal remains is handled by HSD.

HR Operations Duties—For CO and HQ Staff

Alert relevant World Bank Group units of the staff member's death:

  • Accounts Receivables
  • CO Medical Benefits Plan (MBP) administration or HQ Medical Insurance Plan (MIP)
  • Payroll Service Desk
  • Pension Administration
  • Security Operations
  • HSD
  • Enter the termination Personnel Action Form (PAF).

For CO Staff

For HQ Staff

Coordinate with the staff member's manager and HRD team to:

1.    Prepare the Bank Group standard obituary to be sent to all staff by the Vice President, Human Resources. The VPU of the deceased staff member can prepare and distribute a more detailed obituary to their staff.

2.    Prepare the condolence letter for the staff member's family signed by the Bank Group President.

3.    Inform the surviving dependents that they are eligible for MBP coverage under the retiree plan (RMBP) and provide prorated premium due. Surviving dependents have 60 days from end of active coverage to enroll in RMBP. The enrollment form and SAP screenshot must be submitted to HR Operations within 60 days of end of active coverage to register enrollment. Additional information on the retiree plan is available here.

4.    Ensure the staff member's annual leave record is updated with the last day of service by the departmental LARS coordinator to process excess leave payments. Final payments may be delayed if there is a co-pay to be recovered for MBP. HR Operations will work with the Insurance administrator to expedite this process to avoid delays in final payment processing.

5.    Family of the staff member provides HR Operations a copy of the Death Certificate.

6.    Send documents to Cigna.

Coordinate with the staff member's manager and HRD team to:

1.    Prepare the Bank Group standard obituary to be sent to all staff by the Vice President, Human Resources. The VPU of the deceased staff member can prepare and distribute a more detailed obituary to their staff.

2.    Prepare the condolence letter for the staff member's family signed by the Bank Group President.

3.    Prepare a summary of benefits for the staff member's family and schedule a date for them to meet with representatives of HR Operations, HR Insurance Administration, Pension Administration, and the Tax Office.

4.    Ensure the staff member's annual leave record is updated with the last day of service by the departmental LARS coordinator to process excess leave payments.

5.    If the staff member is eligible under Staff Rule 7.02 and Staff Rule 6.08, the following will be issued as applicable:

  • Resettlement of the staff member's remains
  • Resettlement of the staff member's immediate family
  • Separation Grant

6.    Family of the staff member provides HR Operations a copy of the Death Certificate.

Emergency Travel

For each death, only one round-trip economy class air ticket is provided by the most direct and cost-effective route, as determined by the Travel Office, between the duty station area and the nearest airport to the place of death or memorial service. Less than full-fare tickets are issued when available. Higher class tickets will be reimbursed only up to the economy class fare. If emergency travel is undertaken entirely by surface transportation, travel will be reimbursed either on a mileage basis, for travel by private or rental automobile, in the amount specified in 'Procedure: Official Travel Expenses – Payment and Reimbursement', or first-class rail travel, but not exceeding the cost of travel by economy class air. No excess baggage, in/out, stopover, or other transport expenses or incidental expenses will be reimbursed by the Bank Group. The checklist for emergency travel can be found in Checklists section.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment

If the death was a result of an accident or if you think the accident/death was directly related to the staff member's work, write to HR who will confirm eligibility, amount of benefit, and assist beneficiaries with claims. Information on the Bank Group's Basic and Optional Accidental Death and Dismemberment (ADD) policy can be found here.

Short-term Consultant or Temporary (STC/STT)

If the deceased is an STC/STT (in HQ or CO):

  • Contact the Medical Duty Officer through the SOC. They will determine if the cause of death was work-related or not and will make the appropriate calls.
  • HSD will handle the case through Workers' Compensation (employment-related) or will refer the case to AIG Ambassador Service (non-employment related).
  • If they were not on operational travel, there is no coverage by the Bank Group.
  • The manager may wish to send a condolence letter to the family.
  • Information on Accidental Death Insurance can be found here.
  • Bank Group contractors are not covered.

For all Staff, Consultants, and Temporaries

The staff member's family is responsible to return any Bank Group property in their possession (for example, United Nations Laissez-Passer, corporate card, ID card, laptop) to the unit. ID cards for staff, spouse, and domestic partner must be returned to the ID unit. Refer to AMS 6.20 - Information Security and AMS 10.00 - Information Management for additional information.