Information to family members

Before it is time to part, you as a family member may wonder what your life will be like while your next of kin is on mission with the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency. Take the time to talk things through before leaving and agree on how you will communicate with each other. It might be valuable to have a separate communication plan for children in the family so that they may have time with their parent. Discuss when it might be most convenient to talk on the telephone and how often you will have the opportunity to do so. In most mission areas, it is usually possible to call, use Skype and to send e-mails. Think about what times would be suitable in view of possible time differences.

If you have any questions about the mission, please ask your next-of-kin to bring them to the pre-deployment briefing that is held before departure.

The contract of employment for field staff states whether there will be opportunities to travel home when on leave during the mission. If this is the case, you as a family member will have something to look forward to and hopefully the mission will not seem too long.

If you have any questions in regards to the mission, please contact the HR Officer or Programme Officer. These contact details are given out to the field staff prior to departure. As a note, it is helpful to know that outside of regular office hours, the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency’s Duty Officer answers all emergency calls from field staff and also monitors the security/safety situation in the countries where our staff is stationed.

After your next of kin has returned from a mission, it could be very helpful and ease the transition if you are prepared. It may take some time for them to get used to everyday life and your relationship the way it used to be. It can be quite an adjustment to return home and adjust back into old routines.

During the first few days at home, be prepared to keep your expectations at a low level and to not to be disappointed if the transition isn’t instant. It is suggested not to plan too much during this initial period and instead allow the person who has been on mission time to re-adjust to daily life.

As a family member, or partner, it could be helpful if you take the time to listen to what happened during the mission, and it may be important for you to invite the family member, or partner, to talk about their experiences. For other people it might be completely different and they need to process their experiences for themselves before they can share them. If it is your partner who has returned home, it may be useful to know that it can take time to get back to a relaxed relationship. You may need a little time to get to know one another again. If the person who was on mission has children, it may be worth bearing in mind that children (depending on their age) often experience the period, during which a parent was absent from their lives, as being very long. They may cling to the person who remained at home more than usual as they may have felt a little abandoned. Again, it is important to give the situation time and let the child reassess your respective roles once more.

Try to answer all the questions that the child/children may bring up and allow room for questions. Avoid giving a too generic, or too detailed account. Instead talk about the family members, or partners, time away on a level that is understandable for the child/children and be observant with respect to any questions that may come up. As a partner it is very helpful if you are supportive and try to ensure that the child/children and the parent, who has been absent, have some extra time together when it is suitable. In the beginning it might only be 10–15 minutes and the time can later increase as both the parent re-adjusts back into everyday life and the child/children adjusts to having the parent back.

Information to employers

Here is information for you as an employer in pdf format for download.

For the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, it is important that there is an understanding between those registered in our roster and their employers that someone registered on the roster is expected to be available for a mission with short notice. As registered in our roster, we encourage you to have a regular dialogue with your employer regarding the possibility of taking part in a mission.

The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency maintains preparedness for international and national emergency and disaster response operations. The first overseas operation was carried out by the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency’s earlier predecessor, Swedish Rescue Services Agency in 1988 after the earthquake in Armenia. Areas that we operate in are, for example, mine action, humanitarian aid operations and civilian crisis management. The UN and EU are among those who request our support. Being deployed on a mission for the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency provides, in many cases, an opportunity for competence development that individuals on the Field Staff roster can find useful in their everyday jobs.

Requests for support

A mission usually begins when the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency receives a request for support from, for example, the UN or the EU. The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency assesses whether to proceed with the request. If a decision is made to proceed, a HR officer at the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency will contact those on the roster matching the criteria specified in the request and ask if they are available for deployment. Often this can be at very short notice and therefore we usually need to know the deployment availability within anything from two to 24 hours. The deployment often takes place within one to two weeks, but response time may also be shorter. The missions vary in length and can be between a few days up to a year.
NB: An availability enquiry does not always mean that a mission will take place. Sometimes missions are cancelled due to a worsening security situation or other reasons. When the UN or the EU request support a nomination process takes place, during which the requesting organization determine which individual is best suited for the task. The fact that individuals registered on the roster notify the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency of their availability for a mission does not automatically mean that they will be employed. In order for the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency to consider a notification of interest, it is desirable that the people in question are granted leave by their employers should they be selected at the end of the nomination process. However, we recommend taking no irrevocable actions (such as a formal leave application) until the final selection has been confirmed.

Mission

Once deployed, field staff are temporarily employed by MCF and insured through the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency during their employment.

Training

Everyone registered on the roster must undergo the MCF Induction Course and in addition, specialized training courses can be offered. Courses vary in length from three to 14 days. On average, there is one training event per year but this can vary depending on the specific competency profile of the individual on the roster. During training courses, remuneration is paid to participants.

Dialogue with you as an employer

For the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, it is important that there is an understanding between those registered on the roster and you as an employer, that someone who is on the Field Staff roster is expected to be available for missions with short notice. The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency encourage people on the roster to have a regular dialogue with their employer regarding the possibility of taking part in a mission. If you as an employer know there is a certain period during which you cannot grant a leave of absence, it is important to discuss this your employee to make sure that the person can keep her or his availability up to date on MyPages.