Our special Report on Internationally Mobile Employees begins with Bob Sperl focusing on globalization and IMEs. He considers how remunerating this type of employee has developed over the last 40 years. Anthony Stiff then looks at the use of the host-based remuneration system, finding that it is rarely ‘pure’, as most companies add extra benefits and allowances to market salary. Roger Nicholas Balsiger and Stefan Brkic guide the reader on what questions to ask providers to ensure that the cover for expatriates is as expected. Alan Oates and Pat Sweeney explore social security issues, explaining how international agreements work and providing an update on developments. Neil Irons highlights the contradictions and complications of living in one EU country and working in another as regards social security, income tax and labour law. Next, the challenge for the whole family, not just the expatriate, is Anders Halden’s topic. He believes that the importance of keeping spouse and children happy is often underestimated. Lastly, Ruth Ryals examines the availability of offshore pension solutions for key local nationals, looking at four products in some detail.

	Ana De La Quintana discusses the pros and cons of hybrid pension plans that are increasingly being used to address some of the disadvantages found in pure defined contribution arrangements, namely economic uncertainty, a lack of employee financial knowledge, administrative costs and practical considerations. She believes that hybrid plans and, in particular, cash balance plans meet modern challenges of flexibility, while accepting that a balance needs to be struck between flexibility and transparency, which implies an avoidance of complication.

Job evaluation has been through a number of developments in its long history and Steve Watson assesses the current state of play. In order to do this he explains the thinking of the past before working up to the present, including a discussion of the computerization of job evaluation. He believes that, although job evaluation certainly went out of fashion for a while, it has much to offer in its new guise.

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