When is an upgrade not an upgrade? An update on the Picard case

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*Update 23.06.2023 the Commission is to apply the judgment, but not to officials.* *Update 19.12.2022 C-366/21 P was successful! Well done to everyone involved! Here’s an external evaluation of the case and our own update.*

Original article: Legally speaking, is a contract renewal really a contract renewal? Is a second (or subsequent) contract considered to be a new stand-alone agreement or is it a continuation of an already-existing agreement? Given that Contract Agents (CAs) are now 25% of Commission staff [1] Continue reading When is an upgrade not an upgrade? An update on the Picard case →

Reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’

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*Update 13.03.2023 here is the presentation on hotdesking from our 10.03.2023 event.* Original article: Here is the update on Court case T-486/21 promised in our article on whether working from home can truly be considered voluntary. We noted there that the Court rejected the application made by one of our colleagues for reimbursement of teleworking-related internet and phone costs incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic (judgment 07/09/2022). We’ve been raising the issue of additional teleworking costs for over 2 years now and even though all OSPs succeeded in having this issue explicitly mentioned in the  Commission Decision of 24/03/2022 on working time and hybrid working (Article 13) we see the Commission is increasingly reluctant to act. Continue reading Reimbursement of teleworking expenses: the Court says ‘no’ →

Luxembourg: shiny happy people?

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*Update 29.10.2025 Luxembourg remains at 9th place in the latest edition of the World Happiness Report, a drop from 8th place in the 2021 edition. For reference, in the same period, Belgium has  gone from 20th to 14th. For context, a disproportionate part of that happiness measure for Luxembourg relies on gross domestic product (GDP) and it is debatable how well GDP reflects happiness in general. We note that since publishing this article in October 2022 the state average for our example rental went from EUR 1146 to EUR1281; almost a 12% increase in 3 years.*

Continue reading Luxembourg: shiny happy people? →

Let’s talk about resilience at work

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Have you experience a traumatic event and found yourself having to return to work before you were quite 100%? Have you had difficulties in completing a project and to meet the deadline? When we talk about resilience, we’re talking about the ability to cope with the ups and downs of life and bounce back from challenges. In a workplace setting, this can be about the ability to manage anything from a tough workload to frustrating colleagues, or even to changing the working environment. Continue reading Let’s talk about resilience at work →

Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all

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*Update 03.11.2022: Eurostat has published the final figures on the increase for Commission staff in its report.* Against the backdrop of increasing prices and rising inflation and during a period that is, for many staff, the summer break, the Council requested the Commission analyse how to further cut expenditure on staff, asking for a response by the end of September 2022. The Council was specifically targeting the salary updates intended to address inflation. Continue reading Commission to respect expected salary adjustment for some, but not for all →

Winter is coming – and with it come new guidelines on workwear for the office

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*Update 24.11.2023, please open a ticket if you find yourself working in a place that is cold and you suspect that the temperature is below the set minimum for your site: leave a papertrail.**Update 18.11.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year.* *Check out the 16.11.2022 video explaining the heating system* Original article: If you have not already experienced them yourself over the summer, you all have by now at least heard some rumours. ‘Which  rumours?’, you ask, there are so many! Continue reading Winter is coming – and with it come new guidelines on workwear for the office →

All at home! Will the Commission (again) close buildings?

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*Update 10.05.2023 closing buildings announced as a great success success, but the figures are incomplete.**Update 14.12.2022 many buildings will be closed between Christmas and New Year. Here is a list. Here is  how to find and book a desk.* *Here’s our 30.11.2022 note to HR asking (again!) that the lump sum be paid.* Continue reading All at home! Will the Commission (again) close buildings? →

No work-life balance for colleagues in Delegations?

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While the flexible working arrangements such as offsetting and recuperating working hours (‘flexitime’) and working from home are implemented for Member States and headquarters (HQ), as of today, colleagues in 144 Delegations around the world still have no legal basis to telework.  This issue has been flagged multiple times in different meetings with management and a social dialogue was planned to be concluded in September 2022.  As of today, still, nothing. Continue reading No work-life balance for colleagues in Delegations? →

The future of our survey on the rise in teleworking energy bills

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*08.11.2022 we have republished this survey to enable a comparison, please participate!*

*Update 07.11.2022 we add a list of all available state aid in Luxembourg.*

*23.10.2022 the teleworking costs court case has been unsuccessful.*

It’s the perfect storm of costs: increased consumption of utilities and higher bills due to teleworking meets increased energy costs due to the political situation and even higher bills. We intend to show the compounded effects of these two hits by comparing the snapshot we took at the end of 2021 with a new pic from now: we will republish our survey and ask you again to contribute. Continue reading The future of our survey on the rise in teleworking energy bills →

Colleagues in Kyiv to return to the office

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*Update 22.12.2022 EEAS wants to increase the number of staff present in Kyiv, pushing staff evacuated to Brussels to return for 2 weeks at a time, starting in January 2023. We have asked for clarification and flexibility in this.* Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (24.02.2022), colleagues in Kyiv are to return to being present in office starting from 31.10.2022. Local Agents (LAs) are provisionally required to be present four days per week and official (generally expatriate) colleagues are required to be present for a minimum of 2 weeks (we have asked for clarification of this part of the instructions, since the plan for presence suggests that the 2 weeks can also be teleworked). For context, teleworking in Ukraine and abroad was made available also for LAs by Admin decision (2022)20, initially for a period of 3 months.   Continue reading Colleagues in Kyiv to return to the office →