We, the Commission staff, have shown (and continue to show) outstanding flexibility, especially during the recent crises: whether that’s the pandemic and the lockdowns, war in Ukraine, energy resources or skyrocketing inflation. In spite of all this and the exceptional workload these crises created for many DGs, staff made every possible effort to continue to deliver business continuity in the interest of the European people we serve. Continue reading High time for the Commission to show flexibility!
Working conditions
Phone lines: the option exists!
Our manifesto wish came true: we now have a direct phone number for HR to complement those which already exist for the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) and the Office for the Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements (PMO). Continue reading Phone lines: the option exists!
Follow-up special DGT meeting
We look again at the situation in DG Translation (DGT), both in response to contact from colleagues and as a follow up to what was discussed in our last meeting. There are a number of important issues specifically related to DGT but which might also affect colleagues elsewhere, so this meeting is by no means restricted to just one group colleagues. If you want to discuss your concerns in-depth and share your concerns and ideas with us, join our meeting on Friday 2 December 13.15-14.15. Connection details are here. Continue reading Follow-up special DGT meeting
Incorrect Sysper sick leave warning message: you asked, we acted!
Everyone knows the first 3 days of sick leave don’t require a certificate, right? If you are off for longer then yes, you need a certificate. Those first days can be used to wait and see whether you get better or even just to try to organise an appointment with your GP in order to have their opinion on your options: sometimes getting an appointment can take some time! So, yes, sick leave without a certificate which subsequently becomes sick leave with a certificate is not unusual (≤ 3 days without + x days with = good). Though note that the medical service can still check in with you as they wish. Continue reading Incorrect Sysper sick leave warning message: you asked, we acted!
Use it or lose it at the Commission
*Update 18.11.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year.* Use your own allocated desk as much as possible, or you might find yourself soon in hot-desking (or as the Commission calls it, a ‘dynamic’ environment). In fact, this non-optimal use of workstations was the reasoning used as a basis to move colleagues to hot-desking environments of the most extreme type – large open-plan office space with no assigned desks, where furniture, individual storage space and quiet rooms are reduced to the bare minimum. Continue reading Use it or lose it at the Commission
An update on workplace bullying and harassment
We invite all of you to our event on Monday 5 December 12.30-14.00. Connection details are available here. Have you ever been harassed? Or have you ever had the impression you might be harassed? Have you ever witnessed something that didn’t sit right with you and didn’t know what to do? What exactly is harassment or bullying? Note that in the Commission the terms ‘bullying’ and ‘harassment’ are used to mean the same thing: an often-present phenomenon in all personal, educational and professional contexts. Continue reading An update on workplace bullying and harassment
Follow-up survey on teleworking utility bills
*Update 18.11.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year.* As promised in October, we ask you to participate in this, our follow-up survey on the utility costs related to working from home in order to make a comparison with the answers you provided to our original survey (January 2021 – January 2022). We want to demonstrate any further change in costs: our first survey related to an expected increase in the consumption of energy but the issue now is related to Continue reading Follow-up survey on teleworking utility bills
Building closures in winter – ding, ding, ding, we have a winner
*Update 18.11.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year.* *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
Interim staff access to training: you asked, we acted!
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!
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!
