In response to your feedback we try to 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 2024
Leave
10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment: use them or lose them!
It’s been use it or lose it at the Commission for some time now and the 10 days of teleworking from anywhere (TWA) are an example of this. Article 11 of the March 2022 working time and hybrid working (WTHW) decision gives all staff the right to enjoy up to 10 days of teleworking from outside their normal workplace per year, upon their request, subject to the agreement of the line manager. Continue reading 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment: use them or lose them!
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.
Continue reading Challenges of unpaid leave for Contract Agents
Summer holiday 2024 checklist (Tips)
For those of you who remain in the office keeping the Commission standing (thanks!), please check out the heatwave instructions for dealing with hot offices and the list of buildings to be temporarily closed under Buildings Energy Saving Together (BEST) 2024[1]. Read our related article on how these closures undermine that working from home is voluntary.*
Equivalent of 35 colleagues working for free
Each year thousands of colleagues end the year with many unused holidays. The regulations allow the transfer of holidays rights to the next year of up to 12 days. The rest is lost unless a clear justification is provided. ‘Use your holiday or lose it‘ is very much in evidence at the Commission. However, do you know how many holidays in total are lost each year?
Continue reading Equivalent of 35 colleagues working for free
Flexibility days 2024 now available to request
*Update 09.03.2024: The 2025 days are also now known: 17 April Maundy Thursday, 18 April Good Friday and 30 May Day after Ascension Day.*
Original article: For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2024 flexibility days are now listed and available to request in sysper. These are the three public holidays every year where you can choose to work and have the days back as annual leave [1]. Perhaps this is not an option for you at the moment, but it’s good to know that this possibility exists. Continue reading Flexibility days 2024 now available to request
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
Please use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
*Update 19.10.2023 use of TWA days figures added.* *Update 11.10.2023 the section on the IDOC report was clarified.*
Original article: 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. Here’s how to do it. We know of no plans to extend the validity of the 2023 days beyond the end-of-year deadline (the 2021 days could be used until 15.01.2022). Please at least request your full 2023 quota of days, even if you’re not 100% sure that you’ll use them: HR is looking at how many days are left over. Continue reading Please use your 10 days of teleworking from outside the place of employment!
Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
*Update 24.07.2023 Luxembourg national legislation now includes the right to disconnect, though the situation on the ground needs some work.* *For those of you who remain in the office keeping the Commission standing (thanks!), please check out the heatwave instructions for dealing with hot offices and the list of buildings to be temporarily closed under Buildings Energy Saving Together (BEST) 2023[1]. Read our related article on how these closures undermine the insistence that working from home is voluntary.*
With many of us now looking forward to enjoying some well-deserved leave over the summer, we remind you that annual leave is your time to do with as you will. It is not there for you to catch up on work still needing done, it is not there for you to ‘clear your feet’ with projects, it is not there for you to monitor what is or is not happening back in the office. Being reachable all of the time is draining, contributes to burnout and can allow bullying/harassment to continue round the clock and unabated. Take this time for you and leave the office behind! Continue reading Summer holiday checklist (Tips)
Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
Friday 19.05.2023 is still available. For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2023 flexibility days are now listed on MyIntracomm and available to request in sysper. These are the three public holidays every year where you can choose to work and have the days back as annual leave [1]. Perhaps this is not an option for you at the moment, but it’s good to know that this possibility exists. Continue reading Flexibility days 2023 now available to request
