In response to your feedback from last year, we send this list out a bit earlier in order to give you time to take action. We encourage you to do what you can now in order to be able to use the end-of-year period to rest and to recharge your batteries. This is not an opportunity to get work done! Please, as far as you can, switch off your devices, mute notifications and disconnect: take the time for you. Continue reading End-of-year checklist 2023
Leave
Please use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
*Update 26.08.2025 here’s the new link with instructions on how to encode those TWA days, note that even Blue Book trainees can have 5 days.*
Original article: If you still haven’t used up all your days of teleworking from anywhere (TWA)[*] do not forget to file the request in Sysper as soon as possible. Here’s how to do it. We know of no plans to extend the validity of the 2023 days beyond the end-of-year deadline (the 2021 days could be used until 15.01.2022). Please at least request your full 2023 quota of days, even if you’re not 100% sure that you’ll use them: HR is looking at how many days are left over. Continue reading Please use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
*Update 24.07.2023 Luxembourg national legislation now includes the right to disconnect, though the situation on the ground needs some work.* *For those of you who remain in the office keeping the Commission standing (thanks!), please check out the heatwave instructions for dealing with hot offices and the list of buildings to be temporarily closed under Buildings Energy Saving Together (BEST) 2023[1]. Read our related article on how these closures undermine the insistence that working from home is voluntary.*
With many of us now looking forward to enjoying some well-deserved leave over the summer, we remind you that annual leave is your time to do with as you will. It is not there for you to catch up on work still needing done, it is not there for you to ‘clear your feet’ with projects, it is not there for you to monitor what is or is not happening back in the office. Being reachable all of the time is draining, contributes to burnout and can allow bullying/harassment to continue round the clock and unabated. Take this time for you and leave the office behind! Continue reading Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
Friday 19.05.2023 is still available. For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2023 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. Continue reading Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year?
*Update 13.12.2023: If you are sick for >20 days in a year then you have the right to transfer all of your annual leave to the following year. There is (currently?) no budget to automate this process. If are not able to do this yourself within sysper in January, it should be done on your behalf (for 2024 onwards) please check your days are credited to you. Also for anyone returning to work after long-term absence, check out the new HR resources. * Continue reading More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year?
End of year checklist: December 2022
We encourage you to rest and to recharge your batteries during the end-of-year days: this is not an opportunity to get work done! Please, as far as you can, switch off your devices, mute notifications and disconnect: take the time for you. Why not already schedule your out-of-the-office message in Outlook today? It’s one thing you can score off your end-of-year ‘to do’ list. We present a list of suggestions here in no particular order. Please feel free to get in touch to add to this list if you’d like to share what works for you!
Don’t forget to use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
If you still haven’t used up all your days of teleworking from anywhere (TWA) do not forget to file the request in Sysper as soon as possible. We have no information on any extension to the end-of-year deadline (the 2021 days could be used until 15.01.2022) and so conclude that there is unlikely to be any extension: best to use the 2022 quota of days rather than lose them! Continue reading Don’t forget to use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
Invited to a medical ‘control’ during sick leave? Here’s what you need to know (FAQ)
*Update 27.09.2022 several of you got in touch with us to add information to this article and we thank you all for your contributions, we have added them to the relevant sections below. Please feel free to continue to send us your experiences, we will add them here anonymously.* At Generation 2004, we understand just how unnerving it can be to find yourself the recipient of a formal Medical Service invitation and confidentiality statement, particularly if the date stated there has already passed or the location given is incompatible with your current mobility. What to do?
Stay calm, remember that these checks are routine and read our FAQ below. Continue reading Invited to a medical ‘control’ during sick leave? Here’s what you need to know (FAQ)
Time for the Commission to focus on inclusion: cancer survivors
Generation 2004 strongly supports colleagues in the EU institutions affected by cancer, just as we support colleagues with any important issue impacting their physical and/or mental health. As the Commission has been in the process of revising its HR strategy for almost 2 years now, it is high time to put in place a new policy to better cater for the needs of cancer survivors and their families and the needs of all colleagues whose complex situations are not well covered by the current patchwork of rules [1]. Continue reading Time for the Commission to focus on inclusion: cancer survivors
Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
*For those of you who remain in the office keeping the Commission standing, please check out the heatwave instructions for dealing with hot offices *
With many of us now looking forward to enjoying some well-deserved leave over the summer, we remind you that annual leave is your time to do with as you will. It is not there for you to catch up on work still needing done, it is not there for you to ‘clear your feet’ with projects, it is not there for you to monitor what is or is not happening back in the office. Being reachable all of the time is draining, contributes to burnout and can allow bullying/harassment to continue round the clock and unabated. Take this time for you and leave the office behind! Continue reading Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
