Are you a parent navigating the complexities of higher education allowances for your dependent child? This informative session, organised by PMO, might be interesting for you. It will focus on the various types of allowances available and the essential steps to complete the education declaration in Sysper for the 2024/25 academic year.
Continue reading Education allowances – Higher education
Services
Streamlining the Family Allowance Process: A Welcome Change for EU Staff in Belgium
*Update 08.07.2024. We will not claim that PMO reacted to our note of May and implemented the new system within this one month. But we do believe that we gave a bit of a push. Lately, the European Union’s Paymaster’s Office (PMO) has been under scrutiny due to prolonged delays in processing school fee reimbursements and third-party allowances.
Continue reading Streamlining the Family Allowance Process: A Welcome Change for EU Staff in Belgium
ING Lux client? Act now!
*Update 28.06.2024: many thanks to the colleagues who got in touch to say that bank account changes are happening quickly and to suggest accounts with the association cooperative financière des fonctionnaires (AMFIE) as an option.*
Original article: If you have a Luxembourg ING bank account please act quickly to ensure that you receive your August salary. We calculate that you must not only have a new account in place but also have it approved within the FiLIP application by Thursday 20.06.2024 to avoid problems. We’ve sent a note to PMO to ask what workarounds they have in place and whether they’re ready for this additional (and sudden) increase in workload. Continue reading ING Lux client? Act now!
Another positive PMO story
Welcome to the latest of your positive PMO stories. We highlight again how much it comes down to the goodwill of our PMO colleagues and on their willingness to intervene manually to fill the gaps between different systems and processes. In this edition a PMO colleague ensured a colleague claimed the disability-related reimbursements they were entitled to. To that PMO colleague, thanks so much for doing this: it made an enormous difference! Continue reading Another positive PMO story
A positive PMO story
Apologies for the time taken in publishing your positive PMO stories. Here we share the first of the many stories received: one highlighting where the complex landscape of the PMO could easily work against the well-being of anyone who has to interact with it, particularly in situations which are already stressful. Here we take the time to appreciate how much the good functioning of those systems can depend Continue reading A positive PMO story
Your health: seeking transparency and action
At the last meeting of the Local Staff Committee of Brussels, DG HR shared significant data regarding sickness leave and invalidity. They underlined that some of these data require further analysis which they intend to conduct to clarify reasons why, for example, more women than men are reported sick. Continue reading Your health: seeking transparency and action
Share your positive PMO story
Generation 2004 tries to give credit where credit is due. We also give constructive feedback where we find that there are systems in place which work against the well-being of all the colleagues who have to interact with those systems. Generation 2004 sees that many front-line colleagues are not given recognition for the work they do and the difference they make. Rigid rules can make life difficult both for those applying those rules and for those who find themselves subject to them. Continue reading Share your positive PMO story
Reimbursed amount = 0 €
*Update 03.03.2024: the contact number listed on p.2 of the account sheet is out of date, please use number listed here.*
Original article: This can and does happen relatively frequently. First of all, don’t panic! But please do be aware that there is a 3-month time limit[1] on taking a non-reimbursement issue as far as you can before embarking on legal action. Challenging a decision not to reimburse is therefore not an administrative step to save for when you have the time, you really do have to make the time (especially if you need to get a more detailed bill from the health-service provider, for example or investigate whether a precedent has been set for reimbursement). Continue reading Reimbursed amount = 0 €
End-of-year checklist 2023
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
Annual salary update 2023
*Update 13.12.2023, those who took time credit leave while also making full pension contributions will have seen a (small) drop in salary in December.* Update 17.11.2023 many of you got in touch to mention the end of the solidarity levy. Unfortunately, this is extremely unlikely to happen, but we do always appreciate your input, please continue to send us your ideas and sources thanks!*
Original article: The news is out, Eurostat has published its report on the 2023 annual update and the residual salary update amounts to +1.0%, after the intermediate update from June. This is far better than what we had hoped for, so this good news. Continue reading Annual salary update 2023
