Staff Categories

Free conference: Contract Agents career & Review of the Temporary Staff decision

*Update 02.12.2024* Here are the recording and the presentation 1 and 2.  Do you need clarification concerning the career of Contract Agents? Would you like to learn more about the career duration and current options available for advancement? Have you heard about the 7-year rule and ever wondered what it implies in practice and how it has been recently applied?

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AST & AST-SC staff: ECA Report Highlights Long-Standing Career Challenges

*Update 22.11.2024, thanks to all of you who attended the event today. Here is the presentation, our AST FAQ and our summary of AST/SC issues.*

Original article: The recent report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA) brings renewed attention to longstanding issues affecting AST and AST-SC staff within the EU institutions. This external assessment validates many concerns that Generation 2004, as an organisation, has persistently raised.

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Free Training – EPSO AD7 Scientific Research (10 fields)

*Update 12/11/2024.  Here are the recording and the slides of the session. Generation 2004, in collaboration with Yasemos Europeos, is offering for free and for all staff, an online webinar to assist you in preparing for the EPSO competition – AD7 Scientific Research competitions (10 fields).  You will get tips for the application process and an analysis of the tests. You will also have the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation. The session will be in English.
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‘Contract agents collective’ petition: to sign or not to sign?  

Many of you will have recently received a message from a ‘contract agents collective’ and lots are reaching out to us for more details on this initiative and to ask whether we recommend signing the petition. Despite some informal, last-minute communication, this petition has come a little out of the blue to us. 

Continue reading Contract Agents collective’ petition: to sign or not to sign?  

ASTs: exploited and forgotten or given a future? 

*Update 21.11.2024 check out the European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special report 24/2024EU Civil service–A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management: it concludes that ‘…the institutions do not focus on imbalances in the SC and AST function groups in their analysis, and concentrate instead on the AD group, and in particular the starting grades (AD5-AD8).‘ (P. 51) Check out their corresponding chart on p.51 showing the huge and unaddressed imbalances in AST and AST/SC function groups. Why on Earth choose to focus efforts on middle management, on part of a function group?[*] Where’s the global vision? Why tackle the hard stuff?* Continue reading ASTs: exploited and forgotten or given a future? 

Time to put an end to the career blockage of AST/SC staff

*Update 21.11.2024 check out the European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special report 24/2024EU Civil service – A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management: it concludes that ‘…the institutions do not focus on imbalances in the SC and AST function groups in their analysis, and concentrate instead on the AD group, and in particular the starting grades (AD5-AD8).‘ (P. 51) Check out their corresponding chart on p.51. Why on Earth focus efforts on part of a function group?[*] Where’s the global vision? Why tackle the hard stuff?* Continue reading Time to put an end to the career blockage of AST/SC staff

Challenges of unpaid leave for contract agents 

Are you a contract agent or temporary agent who needs time off and annual leave is not enough? Are you considering applying for unpaid leave? Or perhaps you have submitted a request that was denied? Based on feedback from our members, we are examining the complexities surrounding unpaid leave for personal reasons. 

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Longer and sustainable careers for contracts agents 

*Update 21.11.2024 check out the European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special report 24/2024EU Civil service–A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management: it concludes that ‘While the recruitment of temporary staff has proven an effective and flexible way to deal with the shortage of successful candidates on EPSO reserve lists, it carries some risks for business continuity and knowledge management, and as such cannot be a viable long-term solution‘ (Paragraph 100)*

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End of service: IT access

This topic came out of our October sessions on pensions but the information is applicable to anyone leaving the Commission whether that’s at the end of a contract, to retire or for several other reasons. According to your circumstances, you might need access to the IT systems  to submit medical costs, to get certificates or to manage the EU unemployment allowance[1]. Continue reading End of service: IT access