*Update: please find here the presentation [1] and the recording [2] of the webinar*
On Tuesday, 5 May 2026 at lunchtime (12:30 – 13:30) we held a meeting with members on current key issues of interest for staff. The meeting, which was held online, was a valuable opportunity for our members to receive updates on current topics, exchange views on issues affecting colleagues, and ask questions.
The agenda included particularly European Schools, competitions, social dialogue on sick leave, Large Scale Review, Contract Agents and more.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us [3]by email or through our usual channels.
toolTips('.classtoolTips23','Contract Agents (CAs) were created by the 2004 staff regulations Reform. There are two types of CA: those with unlimited contracts, 3A [4] (‘indefinite’) and those with time-limited contracts [5], 3B [6]. CAs can belong to 4 different function groups (\'GF\') with different responsibilities and salaries [7].
As the use of contract staff becomes increasingly common, there has been a corresponding increase in the diversity of status and pay of the Commission’s workforce. For example, GFIV contract staff meeting the same minimum recruitment requirements (education and experience) as junior administrators may earn 28 % less. (European Court of Auditors, 2019, Special report no 15/2019 [8]: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission – Big savings but not without consequences for staff, point 61, page 34)
We have a working group dedicated to the dossier, and in December 2012 we addressed the first of many letters (\'notes\') about Contract Agents to Human Resources of all Institutions and agencies [9] (here is the cover e-mail [10]).
As a background you can see the report of the Commission to the Council regarding the recruitment of the contract agents in 2010 [11] (in French, COM(2011)802 final 23.11.2011).
Our articles on Contract Agents [12]
'); toolTips('.classtoolTips24','Formal negotiations and meetings between the representative trade unions and staff associations (OSPs [13]) [Organisations syndicales et professionnelles] and HR.'); toolTips('.classtoolTips27','Formal negotiations and meetings between the representative trade unions and staff associations OSPs (Organisations syndicales et professionnelles) and HR.'); toolTips('.classtoolTips47','Trade union or staff association (OSP) [Organisation syndicale et professionnelle]');