*Update 09.10.2023 please participate in the Commission survey on the environmental impact of teleworking: deadline 11.10.2023. These emmissions must also be counted in greening the Commission!**Update November 2022, we have republished this survey in order to make a comparison, please participate!* *Update March 2022: 1193 colleagues responded to our additional teleworking costs survey: only 2.85% saw no utility-bill increase. With 27% of respondents seeing their monthly bills increase by a total of 51-100 EUR.* Continue reading The hidden costs of teleworking – and now energy prices!
z Newsletter article
Newsletter editorial – 13-01-2022
A very happy and healthy new year to you all and welcome to the first Generation 2004 Newsletter of 2022! Thanks to all of you who took the time and the energy to participate in our December call to action on the internal competition: we have an update for you on a recent amendment. We appreciate that this is a busy moment for you all at the start of another out-of-the-ordinary year. Between getting back into the swing of things, writing your self- assessment and navigating the promotion/reclassification process, sometimes there’s not much time left over to ensure that you’re not missing out on what is due to you. Nevertheless, please do take a moment to check your annual leave remaining from 2021 and the options open to you. Annual leave days are precious, please don’t lose them! We’d also like to know about any sickness/leave difficulties you’ve had (if and when you find the time, there’s no rush! For those of you who have moved up a step we have a look at how and whether this affects your take-home pay: unfortunately for many staff it doesn’t.
So, that’s it for this first edition, thanks to all of you for your support, ideas and feedback: please keep it coming!
Take care, stay healthy and enjoy reading!
How to increase your chances to get a promotion/reclassification in 2022?
Here is the presentation(note that the timetable for reclassification is slightly different) and here is the recording. To access you must be connected to ECAS, and some browsers work better than others. If you have any difficulties, contact us and we’ll send the presentation to you.)
If you expect to be promoted/reclassified in 2022 or even just want to understand what happens behind the scenes between the self-assessment and the publication of the draft lists in June, this is the event for you: we will shed some light on the mystery! This builds on our recent presentation on the self-assessment where we offered one-to-one assistance. Continue reading How to increase your chances to get a promotion/reclassification in 2022?
More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year?
*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?
Zero net salary increase after advance in step!
When is an upgrade not an upgrade? So, you didn’t get promoted or reclassified last year, but you’re due an upgrade in step and are looking forward to the (however small) associated salary increase. The only circumstances where there is no increase in pay is in the last step in the grade: the salary there is always the same as step 1 of the next grade. So you reckon you’ll get something, right? Well… at the end of the day it might actually be nothing: zero. Continue reading Zero net salary increase after advance in step!
2022 appraisal and promotion/reclassification exercises conference
*Check out our 20.01.2022 update on this very topic*
2022 is here and with it comes the annual appraisal exercise [1] (Commission staff: 5 January for the launch of appraisal self-assessments and 12 January for reclassification self-assessments). It is crucial to understand how this works because it will play a huge part in how your career will progress.
Generation 2004 organises a conference to explain and offer tips. We cover how to prepare your self-assessment and your one-on-one interview with your reporting officer [2]. Continue reading 2022 appraisal and promotion/reclassification exercises conference
Newsletter editorial – 16-12-2021
Welcome to the last Generation 2004 Newsletter of 2021 and to the end of another very unusual year: enjoy your end-of-year days and we wish you all a healthy and happy start to 2022!
Apologies in advance for adding to your potentially already-very-busy last week of work, but we’d like to ensure that you get 2022 off to the best possible start and don’t miss out on anything you’re due! We have a list of thing to check before closing down your computer for the last time in 2021 (a wonderful thought, we know!). Note that the deadline for participating in our collective action against the exclusive internal competition is Tuesday 21 December and also that we also have two events already organised for 2022: CBT training and our annual presentation on the self-evaluation. We recount the experience of one of our intrepid colleagues in building an office chair with no instructions and we have a look at the changing attitude of the administration towards addressing Luxembourg housing costs. Lastly, we have a story to show what a ‘new normal’ might be without any real staff representation.
So, that’s it for 2021! Thanks to all of you for your support, ideas and feedback throughout the year, thanks to everyone who voted and let’s keep up the good work in 2022! Take care, stay healthy and enjoy reading!
Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
We wish you a very merry Christmas and a healthy and happy New Year! It’s been a very particular year (again!), with the pandemic difficulties adding to those we’re more used to. Nevertheless we’d like you to know that we continue to raise your issues and fight on your side, even in the unprecedented perfect storm of circumstances we have been living for a while now: the ongoing (never-ending?) ‘new normal’ of a global pandemic, national lockdowns, sudden border closures, homeschooling-teleworking burnout, hybrid working, phases, bubbles and the ongoing insistence on moving still to dynamic open spaces, we are always here for you! Continue reading Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
Things to check before holidays start (Tips)
Well done on getting though another year of a global pandemic! While that brings its own challenges, there are perhaps some additional things worth checking before your well-deserved Christmas and New Year holiday leave.
Collective action on the very discriminatory internal competition for temporary agents (TAs) only: to join our collective action please apply for this internal competition by 21 December 2021. Continue reading Things to check before holidays start (Tips)
Housing costs in Luxembourg: recognition?
*update 01.04.2022 Corporate Management Board meeting of 30 March 2022 – Flash note: ‘12 actions are being proposed to increase the attractiveness of Luxembourg as place of employment’*
Colleagues in Luxembourg are facing today (well … for over a decade really) house prices that are in no way comparable to those in Brussels, although they receive the same salaries. In the words of DG HR: “This […] has been subject to criticism by some staff members whose place of employment is Luxembourg, who have argued that it does not properly reflect differences in the cost of living between Brussels and Luxembourg.” Continue reading Housing costs in Luxembourg: recognition?
