Newsletter – 2022-11-07

Newsletter editorial – 07-11-2022

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Welcome to this latest edition of the Generation 2004 newsletter. We start with an outline of the unknowns on the very-short-notice permanent closure of the HTC building in Luxembourg. In response to your input, we clarify the process for interim staff to attend training, look at the discriminatory treatment given to AST/SC colleagues at the EEAS and the unnecessary sharing of personal information in Sysper. We offer a workshop webinar on the AD 6 competition, explain how the 4.5% salary adjustment works and remind you to use up the 10 TWA days. We also take a look at two ongoing Court cases which have the potential to set precedents for many of us. The first deals with the long-running Picard case which relates to pension and retirement rights lost by a contract agent colleague on renewing his contract: When is an upgrade not an upgrade? The second case is more recent and relates to the very topical reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’.

Enjoy the reading and get in touch if you believe we can help!

Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner

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*Update 13.03.2023 here are the results of our June 2022 working time and hybrid working survey!**Update 14.12.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year. Here is a list. Here is  how to find and book a desk.* *Update 9.11.2022 a colleague got in touch to say that Berlaymont (BERL) is also to move to open space and hot-desking but the timeline is not yet fixed.*

Many rumours are currently spreading around the potential closure of Commission buildings during winter. It seems that we now have a clear winner: the Commission has decided not just to close the Hitec (HTC) building in Luxembourg temporarily, but to abandon it completely. The building, home to DG SANTE’s directorate B, is to be handed back to the owner by the end of the year, yes this current year. Continue reading Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner →

EEAS: discriminatory treatment of AST/SC staff

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Unfortunately, we have yet another example of circumstances where our secretary and clerk (AST/SC) colleagues are again treated unfairly, this time not within the Commission itself, but in the European External Action Service (EEAS) with its 144 EU Delegations around the world, specifically when it comes to applying for jobs there (‘postings’). We remind you that AST/SC is the smallest, most restricted and newest of all three function groups for officials, it’s been around only 8 years: it was created by the 2014 staff regulation reform. Continue reading EEAS: discriminatory treatment of AST/SC staff →

Workshop-webinar: EPSO/AD/401/22 AD6 energy, climate and environment

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Generation 2004 in cooperation with the company YSE will offer a  workshop-webinar on the application process for the competition: EPSO/AD/401/22 – Administrators (AD 6) in the fields of energy, climate and environment. We will focus on practical aspects of the application, how to describe work experience, answer the questions of the talent screener and discuss the most common mistakes made by the candidates.  At the end, 30 min of Q&A are for your questions. Continue reading Workshop-webinar: EPSO/AD/401/22 AD6 energy, climate and environment →

Interim staff access to training: you asked, we acted!

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One of our members got in touch to say that interim agents have no access to EU Learn. We immediately contacted the EU Learn team and asked them to explain how newly recruited interim agents can enrol in the Commission training courses needed to perform their job effectively and efficiently if they are denied access to EU Learn. Continue reading Interim staff access to training: you asked, we acted! →

Don’t forget to use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!

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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! →

Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5%

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*Eurostat update to the Correction coefficient can be found on p. 34 of their report and it is now official on MyIntracomm (13.12.2022)*

*Update 08.11.2022 to clarify: this 4.5% is in addition to the general intermediate salary update announced in June 2022. For correction coefficient updates and SNEs please check below [1].* Almost everyone, unfortunately with the exception of our local agent (LA) colleagues, will receive a 4.5% salary increase, with retroactive effect from 1 July 2022, to maintain equality with the developments in the Member States. For more info, check the Eurostat Report on the 2022 annual update of remuneration and pensions of EU officials (28.10.2022). Continue reading Annual Salary Adjustment 2022 +4.5% →

First impressions last: Generation 2004 steps in

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*Update 14.03.2023 HR confirms that medical part-time does indeed have a lifetime limit in certain circumstances.* *Update 03.01.2023 (belated) thanks to the colleagues who pointed out that medical part-time is sick leave and not a work pattern.[1]* Original article: Generation 2004 succeeds: personal and sensitive information[2] is no longer visible in sysper applications, thanks to Generation 2004 action! Continue reading First impressions last: Generation 2004 steps in →

When is an upgrade not an upgrade? An update on the Picard case

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*Update 23.06.2023 the Commission is to apply the judgment, but not to officials.* *Update 19.12.2022 C-366/21 P was successful! Well done to everyone involved! Here’s an external evaluation of the case and our own update.*

Original article: Legally speaking, is a contract renewal really a contract renewal? Is a second (or subsequent) contract considered to be a new stand-alone agreement or is it a continuation of an already-existing agreement? Given that Contract Agents (CAs) are now 25% of Commission staff [1] Continue reading When is an upgrade not an upgrade? An update on the Picard case →

Reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’

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*Update 13.03.2023 here is the presentation on hotdesking from our 10.03.2023 event.* Original article: Here is the update on Court case T-486/21 promised in our article on whether working from home can truly be considered voluntary. We noted there that the Court rejected the application made by one of our colleagues for reimbursement of teleworking-related internet and phone costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (judgment 07/09/2022). We’ve been raising the issue of additional teleworking costs for over 2 years now and even though all OSPs succeeded in having this issue explicitly mentioned in the  Commission Decision of 24/03/2022 on working time and hybrid working (Article 13) we see the Commission is increasingly reluctant to act. Continue reading Reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’ →