Working conditions

Invited to a medical ‘control’ during sick leave? Here’s what you need to know (FAQ)

FAQs, Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-09-27, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 27.09.2022 several of you got in touch with us to add information to this article and we thank you all for your contributions, we have added them to the relevant sections below. Please feel free to continue to send us your experiences, we will add them here anonymously.* At Generation 2004, we understand just how unnerving it can be to find yourself the recipient of a  formal Medical Service invitation and confidentiality statement, particularly if the date  stated there has already passed or the location given is incompatible with your current mobility. What to do?

Stay calm, remember that these checks are routine and read our FAQ below. Continue reading Invited to a medical ‘control’ during sick leave? Here’s what you need to know (FAQ) →

Council request to further reduce spending on staff

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*Update 22.03.2023: see our article on the latest council request to reduce spending on staff. *Update 21.09.2022 : all representatives OSPs met with the Cabinet on the Commission response to the Council.* Continue reading Council request to further reduce spending on staff →

Time for the Commission to focus on inclusion: cancer survivors

disability and special needs, Health, Leave, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, Staff Regulations Reform, Working conditions, workplace bullying and harassment Print This Post

Generation 2004 strongly supports colleagues in the EU institutions affected by cancer, just as we support colleagues with any important issue impacting their physical and/or mental health. As the Commission has been in the process of revising its HR strategy for almost 2 years now, it is high time to put in place a new policy to better cater for the needs of cancer survivors and their families and the needs of all colleagues whose complex situations are not well covered by the current patchwork of rules [1]. Continue reading Time for the Commission to focus on inclusion: cancer survivors →

Preserving acquired rights of Local agents – empty promises?

Local Agents, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, Working conditions Print This Post

Generation 2004 has come across different cases where Local Agents (LAs) have indeed lost their acquired rights after signing up to the new conditions of employment (a loss of rights was mentioned as a distant possibility in 2020). First and foremost, Generation 2004 does not agree with the approach of setting the deadline for LAs to sign the new contract which was before all the annexes of the contract were in place.  The national law reference guides were not provided to colleagues at the time of signing the contract and some of the implementing decisions (i.e. the assessment procedure, guidance policies to assist Delegations in exercising their duty of care towards the local staff) are even still missing today. Continue reading Preserving acquired rights of Local agents – empty promises? →

Hybrid working guidelines for DGs and Delegations, what should we expect? 

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*Update 10.03.2023 in January 2023 the Commission abandoned its draft guidelines in favour of reworking the frequently asked questions (FAQs).*

Generation 2004 firmly believes that the EU institutions should focus on impact and output rather than the means of work.  When the pandemic has shown that, for many roles, teleworking can be as effective as office presence (and is considered equivalent), why does the EU appear to prefer to go back in time? Why burden colleagues with again finding balance, having to revamp their schedules and routines with the associated stresses in order to be present in their place of employment rather than letting them continue to telework in peace, efficiently, effectively, and happily? Continue reading Hybrid working guidelines for DGs and Delegations, what should we expect?  →

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) →

It happened to me!

Features, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, Working conditions Print This Post

Life can be surprising, and life in the Commission can be surprising too. If you have encountered an eyebrow-raising situation, please share it with us!

We are proposing to start a new column dedicated to your experiences: we’d like you to tell us how it’s possible to get caught up between different rules (or different ways of applying the same rule) or to find yourself scratching your head thinking ‘come on, is this normal?’ Continue reading It happened to me! →

An unprecedented general intermediate salary update

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As you surely are aware, our salaries are updated once a year: following a detailed calculation by Eurostat, we usually get a salary update with the December salary slip. The amount of the update is determined by what civil servants in the members states received as updates to their salaries. So far, so good, at least for (most) colleagues in the EU. Continue reading An unprecedented general intermediate salary update →

New rules on Working Time and Hybrid Working. Tell us what you think.

New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2022-06-07, Newsletter - 2022-07-08, return to the office-new normal, Surveys, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Check out the results of this survey*It is now two months since its adoption: is the new Decision on Working Time and Hybrid Working in line with your expectations? How many days are you allowed to telework? Do you feel everyone has the same opportunities?

Since DG HR has not yet gathered its courage to formally and concretely ask you what you think about the so-called “New Normal” and how it is affecting your professional and private lives, Generation 2004 dares to face “the elephant in the room” and ask YOU what YOU REALLY THINK.  Continue reading New rules on Working Time and Hybrid Working. Tell us what you think. →

The much expected new normal arrived, and it’s unfair for many!!!

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New Decision on Working Time and Teleworking: service à la carte = discrimination! [1]

Two months into the implementation of the new Decision, Generation 2004 has already received many complaints from colleagues whose Directorate General (DG) has a restrictive reading of the decision. According to the information we have received, several DGs and services, including DG GROW, DG TAXUD, OIL and the Legal Service, have drafted – or are drafting – guidelines that set up an obligation to come to the office 3 or even 4 days per week, to the dismay of many among their staff. Often the reason given is a generic “interest of the service”, without offering any specific details and consulting staff, while such need was not necessary prior to the pandemic. And without carrying out an analysis based on different types of jobs or tasks inside the DG or service.  Continue reading The much expected new normal arrived, and it’s unfair for many!!! →