What is GIPS Article 13 (CA screening) and who can benefit from it ? Article 13 of the general implementing provisions (GIPs) for Article 79(2) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) provides a pathway for Contract Agents engaged under article 3a of the CEOS [*] to advance to a higher function group (so-called CA screening), provided they meet certain conditions. Continue reading Unlocking Career progression for Contract Agents: untapped potential of GIPS Article 13
Staff Regulations Reform
Assistants (ASTs) FAQs
*Update 19.02.2025: ‘By default, all [internal] competitions will be cross-category.’ (Stay tuned: A new approach for internal competitions) This is excellent news and should now put the Commission on an even footing with the Parliament and other EU institutions. We hope that this inclusion is genuine and that the competitions are not otherwise skewed to reduce participation. We update and republish the questions below to accommodate this change.*
Secretaries and Clerks (AST/SC) FAQs
We will add the presentation from our February 2025 event here and below you’ll find an extended version of a frequently asked questions (FAQs) based on the questions asked there.
If there’s something here that you can add to, that you’d like more information on or that you’d like to challenge (we’re open to all input!) then please get in touch: we’re here for you ! Thanks very much to all who attended! Continue reading Secretaries and Clerks (AST/SC) FAQs
ASTs and AST/SCs: promised change: conference
*Update 19.02.2025: ‘By default, all [internal] competitions will be cross-category.’ (Stay tuned: A new approach for internal competitions) This is excellent news and should now put the Commission on an even footing with the Parliament and other EU institutions. We hope that this inclusion is genuine and that the competitions are not otherwise skewed to reduce participation.* Continue reading ASTs and AST/SCs: promised change: conference
Brave new world at the Commission: the day the staff representation was abolished
I wake up and it is just another ordinary day. I prepare breakfast and get my child ready. Then head to the crèche before going to the office. But to my great surprise, the crèche is closed. Nobody seems to be around. When I finally spot someone I know, I ask what is going on. Maybe a strike? “Not really. Weren’t you informed? Continue reading Brave new world at the Commission: the day the staff representation was abolished
Conference: Who owns your mobile phone? Work-related communications on private devices
*Update 22 January 2025, please find the recording of our conference. Roughly year ago (in December 2023), the Commission asked staff to provide their private mobile phone numbers to create Signal messenger groups where they could be contacted for work purposes. The intended goal was to test business continuity, but it lacked any legal basis and even a basic respect for data-protection (GDPR) principles.
The first staff regulation reform: a new underclass (long read)
*Update 15.01.2025, Here’s our December note on the technical difficulties in application process in a call for expression of interest for the internal competition JPP14 (French and German as language 2).*
*Update 20.12.2024, Here’s our Note to HR on European Court of Auditors Special report: European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special report 24/2024: EU Civil service–A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management* Continue reading The first staff regulation reform: a new underclass (long read)
Oops … the Commission did it again! Illegal request on private phones
It’s not even a month since the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) ordered the Commission to suspend illegal personal data flows and we see another such order coming.
Last December, the Commission launched a ‘business continuity’ exercise asking most colleagues (if not all, it was never clear) to provide their private mobile phone numbers to create Signal private messenger groups where they could be contacted for work matters. Continue reading Oops … the Commission did it again! Illegal request on private phones
From culture of trust to control freak
*Update 27.02.2025: the question of whether managers can/should use Teams/Skype or other status as an indication of your presence/availability has been raised repeatedly, particularly given that you might have a different status on each platform. Check out question 14 of the flexible working FAQs for written confirmation that this is not their intended use and that status is not a reliable indicator of presence or non-presence.* Continue reading From culture of trust to control freak
Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters
*Update 07.11.2022 we add a list of all available state aid in Luxembourg.* In the absence of any real action on the issue of Luxembourg housing costs from the EU institutions, assistance is now available from the Luxembourgish state for those on lower incomes (for Luxembourg(!)[1]) who are renting. The subsidy is between €200 and €400 per month, depending on take-home pay and how many children there are in your household. Looking at our salary scales, and depending on individual circumstances, this might help staff in all function groups and categories, but particularly our contract agent (CA), assistant (AST) and secretaries and clerks (AST/SC) colleagues. Using the pay calculator as a rough guide, we see that the Luxembourg national authority evaluation of what constitutes a low income includes our colleagues e.g. in CA III, grade 9(5), AST2(1) and AST/SC3(1). Please don’t just look at your payslip, not all allowances count towards your net income. Check out whether you are eligible by requesting a PMO certificate via the MyIntracomm Luxembourg state aid page. Let the PMO do an official calculation, you might be pleasantly surprised! Continue reading Housing prices in Luxembourg – the state takes action for renters
