For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2022 flexibility days are now listed on MyIntracomm and available to request in sysper. These are the three public holidays every year where you can choose to work and have the days back as annual leave [1]. Perhaps this is not an option for you at the moment, but it’s good to know that this possibility exists. You can choose to work all 3 days or any combination of mornings or afternoons: 14 April (Maundy Thursday), 15 April (Good Friday), 27 May (Friday, day after Ascension Day).
There is no additional credit for this: the exchange is 1 day for 1 day. Note that any days (or half days) worked will not be credited until after the finalisation of the July timesheet. Here is how to use these days.
If you worked these days, have no annual leave left, and want to use the days of annual leave generated before they are credited to your account in sysper you can do so: put a note in the comments section of the corresponding annual leave request e.g. ‘I worked 14.04.2022 which will be credited to my annual leave after July’.
Teleworking from outside the place of employment
We continue to request clarity on whether we can again have the 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment and whether they will again be linked to 5 days of annual leave. Colleagues need this information in order to make informed decisions on leave, with full knowledge of all of the options available to them. [2]
Need more time out of the office? Consider this option. Additional leave days can be ‘bought’ by foregoing part of our salaries. A specific number of days (10.5 or 21 days) can be ‘purchased’ each time up to 42 days in total in the space of a year. From our chosen start date our salary is proportionally reduced during a certain number of months. These days can be used by anyone, not just those who have used up their parental and family leave possibilities. For those considering a couple of months of leave, time credit also has certain advantages over leave on personal grounds (CCP) [Congé de Convenance Personnelle] in that you continue to be covered by the JSIS and it does not affect your seniority to participate in a promotion exercise.
Special leave
The staff regulations provide a number of ways to free up your time to look after your close relatives or just to make your personal dreams happen. Also check out the special leave options available and have a look at those visible in sysper. (Make a draft special leave request in order to see all the options. You can then delete it without submitting it.) Please don’t use up your precious annual leave e.g. for exams or training where there is already a provision for special leave.
Work/life balance is important and Generation 2004 will do its best to keep informing you on your rights.
Happy planning [3] and remember that we’re here for you: get in touch!
[1] See the DG JUST guidance from 2021 and the Commission Decision on Leave, 16.12.2013 C(2013) 9051
[2] We would like to avoid a repeat of the last-minute decision to allow the 10 days of teleworking to be used together with the end-of-year-days (and even up to 15.01.2022), removing the necessity to add 5 days of annual leave, announced 08.12.2021 (email communication and follow-up updated teleworking guidelines). We had been asking just this question repeatedly since the publication of this 5-day rule (31.3.2021 Teleworking guidelines p.7) and the repeated response from HR was that they would have to consider it. So, while this was good news for anyone not having already used up the days, the indecision regarding these days led to others using precious annual leave where it was subsequently no longer necessary to do so.
[3] Here’s the 2022 Eurostat calendar as a PDF and as an editable XLS.
