disability and special needs

More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year?

COVID-19, disability and special needs, Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-01-13 Print This Post

*In 2023 it should no longer be necessary to request the transfer of days where it is a right thanks to our initiative [1].*

For those of you with surplus days of annual leave: check out the viable reasons for requesting that the days (in addition to the standard 12 days) be added to your 2022 quota: either for requirements of the service or for health reasons. Even if you do not fall into one of the categories listed, please discuss with your line manager rather than just assume the days are lost. Continue reading More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year? →

Generation 2004 member wins a case on access to their medical file!

Data Protection, disability and special needs, Health, Newsletter - 2021-10-08, Newsletter - 2021-10-12, PMO, workplace bullying and harassment Print This Post

Generation 2004 has been fighting hard for the effective implementation of the right of staff to have full and timely access to their medical file.

Access to your own medical file and the right to update the information contained there are very important, particularly in circumstances where that information is used to make a decision about you e.g. whether you are fit enough to continue to work or even just to be recruited.  A lack of transparency leads to questions about fairness and motives [1]. Of course, occasionally there may be legitimate reasons for insisting that a doctor access parts of the file on your behalf. However, we all still have the right to consult (via a healthcare professional, if necessary) the information in our medical history and to correct it or add a note where necessary. Continue reading Generation 2004 member wins a case on access to their medical file! →

Medical reservation = discrimination against persons with disabilities (long read)

disability and special needs, Health, Newsletter - 2021-09-20, Staff Regulations Reform Print This Post

*Update 23.10.2024 please check the disability section in our list of resources, if there’s anything you’d like to add there, get in touch.**Update 29.11.2023, we sent a note to Ms Ingestad on this topic but forgot to upload it here. Here it is now.*

Original article: The medical reservation rules and their implementation:  how well do they fit with the prohibition of discrimination against persons with disabilities and the current HR drive for diversity and inclusion [1]?

The pre-recruitment medical: excluding those with disabilities?

Continue reading Medical reservation = discrimination against persons with disabilities (long read) →

The ‘new normal’: is this it?

COVID-19, disability and special needs, Environment, IT kit for telework, Newsletter - 2020-07-01, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 20.07.2021: Check out the MyIntracomm discussion below Towards more attractive and flexible working conditions: Staff working arrangements: major changes in the pipeline*

The Working time and hybrid working decision sets out the proposed ‘new normal’ with an invitation to discuss this with the trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) in a social dialogue on 30 June. Here are the current Working time and flexitime rules  and their corresponding frequently asked questions (FAQs) for comparison. Continue reading The ‘new normal’: is this it? →

Follow up on the option to work 95% for family reasons

disability and special needs, Newsletter #38 - Dec 2019 Print This Post

Image by Gerd Altmann from PixabayFollowing the publication of our article on the option to work 95% for family reasons last October, Generation 2004 is happy to announce that there has been positive progress made on this subject.

From now on a 5% working time reduction will be systematically granted upon request when any of the three conditions apply: Continue reading Follow up on the option to work 95% for family reasons →

Medical coverage for disabled staff

disability and special needs, Health, Newsletter #36 - Jun 2019 Print This Post

EU staff members and their families are covered by a sickness insurance scheme, known as the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (‘JSIS’). In October 2015, following a review conducted under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘UNCRPD’), the UN Committee recommended that the European Union should revise the JSIS so as to comprehensively cover disability-related health needs in a manner compliant with the Convention.

This inquiry focused primarily on the criteria used by the JSIS for the recognition of “serious illnesses” in relation to disabilities. This issue has important implications for persons with disabilities since medical costs are fully reimbursed only if the illness being treated is classified as “serious”. Continue reading Medical coverage for disabled staff →

Generation 2004 deals with harassment

disability and special needs, Newsletter #34 - Apr 2019, workplace bullying and harassment, z Newsletter article Print This Post

*The Central Staff Committee (CSC) harassment/bullying survey [*] preliminary results were presented in the March 2022 CSC plenary. The HR diversity and inclusion (D&I) survey (March 2021, optional section on harassment) results were presented via EU Learn 19.05.2022 [**]. A summary is in April 2022 CSC plenary. * Continue reading Generation 2004 deals with harassment →

Generation 2004 & support for colleagues with cancer

disability and special needs, Newsletter #31 - Nov 2018, z Newsletter article Print This Post

Did you know that new research finds that, from now 1 in 2[1] people will be diagnosed with cancer? This new estimate replaces the previous 1 in 3 people figure. In the period 2014 to 2025, the yearly number of new invasive tumour diagnoses (excl. nonmelanoma skin cancer) in Belgium is projected to rise from 67,820 to 79,140, an increase of about 17%[2]. In 2015, 1.3 million people died from cancer in the EU, more than one quarter (25.4 %) of the total number of deaths.[3]

That being said it is also promising that e.g. the UK’s cancer survival has doubled over the last 40 years and around half of patients now survive the disease for more than 10 years. But, as more people benefit from improved healthcare and longer life expectancy, the number of cancer cases is expected to rise.[4] However, there are always the side effects of any treatment that someone is exposed to: operation, chemo, radio, immunotherapy, pills…. Continue reading Generation 2004 & support for colleagues with cancer →

Generation 2004 & actions for our colleagues with disability

disability and special needs, Health, Newsletter #31 - Nov 2018, z Newsletter article Print This Post

The UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities sets out the legal obligations on States to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The European Union signed the Convention in 2010. It is legally binding. In the 2016 staff survey, about 6% of all Commission staff declared having long-standing health issues or a disability that affects their daily activities.

The Commission’s policy on disability was an essential concern for Generation 2004 and we were active in this regard at different levels. Especially, through the current Local Staff Committee (LSC) Brussels of which the President is a Generation 2004 member. Continue reading Generation 2004 & actions for our colleagues with disability →