Leave

Summer holiday checklist (Tips)

Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, Working conditions Print This Post

*For those of you who remain in the office keeping the Commission standing, please check out the heatwave instructions for dealing with hot Offices *

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) →

Special leave for volunteering: it’s one day PER YEAR!

crisis-response action, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-03-16, Outside the Union, Ukraine 2022 Print This Post

*Update 17.04.2024 We asked for the exceptional 5 days for volunteering to help with those affected by the war in Ukraine be made available for those volunteering to help civilians caught up in wars elsewhere.*

Original article: Generation 2004 clarifies the options available for volunteering in response to colleagues who have reached out to us for details. As mentioned on How to help Ukraine[1], special leave is available in sysper for volunteering. That means that you can volunteer and still be paid your full wage at the end of the month: great, right?[2] Continue reading Special leave for volunteering: it’s one day PER YEAR! →

Teleworking abroad in 2022? Here is the easy solution!

Leave, Newsletter - 2022-02-10, Teleworking Print This Post

*update 19.02.2022: unfortunately the 14th edition of the teleworking guidelines (valid from 21.02.2022) have not applied the simple solutions Generation 2004 suggested below.*

We have listened to all of you who contacted us to enquire about teleworking from abroad/outside the place of employment (TWA) for this year. Many would like to have at least the same arrangements as last year so that they can request their 10 days of TWA now, while planning for the school holidays of Carnival and Easter. If not, it would be good to at least know exactly what the rules are: you are planning the year ahead: you need certainty! Continue reading Teleworking abroad in 2022? Here is the easy solution! →

Flexibility days 2022 now available to request

Leave, Newsletter - 2022-02-10, Part-time, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

For those of you keen to plan the year ahead and organising things to look forward to, note that the 2022 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 2022 now available to request →

More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year?

COVID-19, disability and special needs, Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-01-13 Print This Post

*In 2023 it should no longer be necessary to request the transfer of days where it is a right thanks to our initiative [1].*

For those of you with surplus days of annual leave: check out the viable reasons for requesting that the days (in addition to the standard 12 days) be added to your 2022 quota: either for requirements of the service or for health reasons. Even if you do not fall into one of the categories listed, please discuss with your line manager rather than just assume the days are lost. Continue reading More than 12 days of annual leave remaining from last year? →

Things to check before holidays start (Tips)

COVID-19, Health, IT kit for telework, Leave, Newsletter - 2021-12-16, PMO, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

Well done on getting though another year of a global pandemic! While that brings its own challenges, there are perhaps some additional things worth checking before your well-deserved Christmas and New Year holiday leave.

Collective action on the very discriminatory internal competition for temporary agents (TAs) only: to join our collective action please apply for this internal competition by 21 December 2021. Continue reading Things to check before holidays start (Tips) →

Sickness during annual leave: act fast and recover the days!

Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2021-09-20, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 03.01.2023 additional information added (footnote 4) on sick leave away from the place of employment.**Update 18.12.2022: Having struggled to find the correct email addresses to send a sickness certificate or declare an accident, we have found using PMO Mobile 2.0 on a smart phone to be a bit more user friendly.* If you are sick during your annual leave it is possible to have those days credited to your sysper quota but the rules are different from those for being at work and the deadlines are tighter [1]

You require a certificate from the first day and must inform the medical service and send the certificate within 48 hours.

Continue reading Sickness during annual leave: act fast and recover the days! →

Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates

Childcare, COVID-19, Leave, Newsletter - 2021-03-26, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 11.10.2022 Covid booster II campaign is starting soon (again medical service in Brussels and national authorities elsewhere) and flu vaccine is already available on some sites* Commissioner Hahn said in his video message (16.3.2021) that ‘we are all impatient to be free again’. At this stage, please allow me to modify his message and stress that ‘we are all impatient to be finally vaccinated’ (at least most of us). After 1 year of teleworking at home we are all fed up with this situation and cannot wait to resume a normal life. While entering the third wave, we are facing yet another lockdown. As most countries begin to tighten the restrictions, the vision of going to visit our loved ones over the Easter period seems to be vanishing. The pressure is high, our workload has increased, some of us at the brink of burnout, digital overload is a hard reality and some of us are worried about our family members in other Member States, which are currently fighting for their lives. Continue reading Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates →

Things to check before holidays start (Tips)

COVID-19, Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2020-12-18, PMO, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

Although at the moment you are most probably in full trying-to-find-one-last-gift mode (good luck with that!), there are perhaps some other things worth checking before your well-deserved Christmas and New Year holiday leave.

If you meet the criteria, submit your request to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as it is available: the deadline is 15 January 2021. Continue reading Things to check before holidays start (Tips) →

Forced leave, a dream… err… a nightmare come true…

EEAS, Leave, Newsletter - 2020-07-03, Outside the Union Print This Post

Are you a Commission colleague posted in a EU Delegation to a third country and are you coming back to the EU for vacation?  Or perhaps you already came to Europe for a short vacation and got stuck due to COVID-19 related travel bans and as a consequence you were put on forced annual leave? Do you feel discriminated when your treatment is compared to the same situation of Commission staff residing in the EU? Continue reading Forced leave, a dream… err… a nightmare come true… →