British diplomats posted to Buenos Aires and Santiago will no longer receive hardship payments, as the UK government has revised its list of locations qualifying for these allowances. The Foreign Office has removed six locations from the list, impacting diplomats serving in cities previously deemed risky or challenging.
Other cities no longer on the list include Panama City, Panama; Pyongyang, North Korea; Bamako, Mali; and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. These payments, intended to compensate diplomats and their families for the additional costs and challenges of living in difficult overseas locations, have been in place for approximately 30 years and are reviewed regularly.
Factors considered for hardship payments include security risks, climate, natural disasters, isolation, and other quality-of-life impacts. The allowances are designed to ensure staff are properly supported in challenging physical and political environments, a policy that has been consistently applied under successive governments.
Despite these removals, 144 locations remain on the list, including popular destinations like Bali and Rio de Janeiro, as well as other cities such as Bangkok, Cape Town, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat. Previously, specific hardship payments for postings in 2009 included an extra £1,517 for a couple posted to Buenos Aires and £777 for Santiago.
The decision to remove certain cities from the hardship pay list has drawn criticism from some political figures. Conservative chairman Kevin Hollinrake stated that civil servants receiving extra pay for working in these areas is unfair to taxpayers. He argued that while families and businesses face higher taxes, civil servants are being sent to destinations like Bali and Cape Town on taxpayer-funded trips, calling the practice "nonsense."
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office defended the scheme, emphasizing the duty of care to support British diplomats serving in tough environments around the world, stating that compensation reflects the posting's circumstances, similar to private sector practices.