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British diplomats stationed in six global locations, including Buenos Aires and Santiago in South America, will no longer receive hardship payments for serving in those cities. These payments and additional respite breaks are typically allocated to personnel working in areas considered dangerous, such as Beirut, Lebanon; cities with high crime rates like Pretoria, South Africa; or places facing severe air pollution including New Delhi and Beijing.
The latest government update has removed Santiago (Chile), Panama City (Panama), Pyongyang (North Korea), Bamako (Mali), and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) from the hardship allowance list, in addition to excluding the two South American cities. Despite these removals, 144 locations remain on the list, encompassing both conflict-prone regions and well-known tourist destinations like Bali and Rio de Janeiro, which has sparked criticism from Conservative figures.
Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake criticized the hardship payments, arguing that civil servants benefiting from extra pay in these locations create an unfair burden on taxpayers. He stated that while families and businesses are facing increased taxes, civil servants are undertaking taxpayer-funded trips to places such as Bali, Cape Town, and the Maldives, calling this practice unjustifiable and pledging to reduce the civil service’s size if his party returns to power.
The Foreign Office has historically provided extra compensation to staff working in locations with heightened dangers or health risks for more than three decades. These payments are intended to offset the additional difficulties and costs associated with living in challenging environments and are regularly reviewed. Factors influencing the allowance include security, climate, natural disasters, and isolation. In 2009, the highest hardship payments were awarded for postings to Karachi, Pakistan (£26,647), and Abuja, Nigeria (£14,804), whereas hardship pay for couples posted to Buenos Aires was £1,517 and to Santiago £777. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office defended the hardship scheme, emphasizing their duty to properly support staff serving in demanding physical and political settings worldwide, equating the compensation to what might be expected in similar private-sector roles
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