On endorsing the flawed promotion system: amnesia at the staff committee

Newsletter - 2020-11-19, Promotions Print This Post

Selective amnesia [1] is a useful thing to keep at hand, not only in politics but also in the staff representation. At the October plenary of the Central Staff Committee some of our colleagues were kind enough to remind us of this fact.

What happened? Well, a little context first. As was already done in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 etc., several members of the Joint Promotion Committee (JPC) abstained in the votes on the final outcome of this year’s promotion exercise [2]. Continue reading On endorsing the flawed promotion system: amnesia at the staff committee →

Extension for your decision on the new local agent conditions – 31 June 2021

Local Agents, Newsletter - 2020-11-19, Working conditions Print This Post

See our first article on the modernisation of local agent (LA) conditions of employment. 

Extension of timeline for LAs to decide whether or not to sign up to the addendum for LA conditions 

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic and the situation of European External Action Service (EEAS) HR Unit BA.5 being rather under-staffed, there is a delay in preparing the local-law reference guide for 140 delegations. Therefore, the initial deadline for signing up the addendum has now been extended to 30 June 2021. See Joint Decision ADMIN(2020) 45 for details. 

Continue reading Extension for your decision on the new local agent conditions – 31 June 2021 →

Promotion/reclassification exercises 2020

Newsletter - 2020-11-19, Promotions, reclassification Print This Post

As you probably already know, this year’s  promotion (officials)/reclassification (Contract Agents) exercises just ended with the publication of the lists on 12 November.

If your name is on a list and you were promoted/reclassified then Generation 2004 would like to warmly congratulate you. We are sure it was well deserved!

Continue reading Promotion/reclassification exercises 2020 →

2020 The yearly salary update: time for the exception clause

Newsletter - 2020-11-19, yearly salary update Print This Post

Eurostat has published its 2020 report on the yearly salary update. While in the recent past this update was essentially a percentage number, this year the exception clause introduced in the 2014 staff regulations, will be triggered for the first time.

The relevant provisions regarding the exception clause are in Annex XI, Chapter 5, ‘moderation and exception clauses’ of the Staff Regulations. The provisions do not make for easy reading for non-lawyers, but essentially the exception clause consists of two ingredients:

  1. A decrease in the European Union’s gross domestic product (GDP)
  2. A positive specific indicator

Continue reading 2020 The yearly salary update: time for the exception clause →

The new European School of Brussels

Education, European Schools, Newsletter - 2020-10-23 Print This Post

The European Schools of Brussels have been under great stress for a long period of 10 years due to overcrowding.

The inaction of the Belgium state to comply with its legal obligations to provide a new school, coupled with the lack of real pressure from the European Commission for it to do so, led to an extreme situation that needs very urgent attention. Continue reading The new European School of Brussels →

Do you want to be able to telework from outside your place of employment?

New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2020-10-23, Newsletter - 2020-11-19, Staff Regulations Reform, Teleworking Print This Post

You have shown that teleworking is possible, but do you want more of it and are you being consulted? [1]

Article 20 of the staff regulations stipulates that ‘An official shall reside either in the place where he is employed or at no greater distance therefrom as is compatible with the proper performance of his duties. The official shall notify the Appointing Authority of his address and inform it immediately of any change of address.’

Therefore, the outcome of any future teleworking decisions might affect us all. These choices could  impact everything from the multiannual financial framework (MFF) to the European Green Deal, to all 6 pillars of the new HR strategy to the money you take home every month: the 16 % expatriation allowance / 4% foreign residence allowance and potentially the coefficient (if any) that applies to your salary.   Continue reading Do you want to be able to telework from outside your place of employment? →

Transfer-out of pension rights when leaving the institutions

Newsletter - 2020-10-23, Pensions Print This Post

*Update 06.11.2025 here is the link to the retirement info available on staff matters.* Original article: If you are on a time-limited contract and reaching the end of your time in the institutions or if you decide to leave even if in a permanent type of statutory link, you should spend some time reflecting about your acquired pension rights. In principle, there are three scenarios to consider. Continue reading Transfer-out of pension rights when leaving the institutions →

Catch-22: Do as I say, not as I do

Contract Agents, Newsletter - 2020-10-23, Temporary Agents Print This Post

Here is a good example for a Catch-22 situation: Staff on fixed-term contracts excluded from potential roles due to their fixed-term contracts. 

Generation 2004 again challenges the unequal treatment of staff, this time coming from what would ideally be the most unlikely of sources, the Local Staff Committee (LSC) in Brussels, which refused to interview those candidates who had ‘only a year left’ before hitting the arbitrary 7-year rule for their recent vacant post since it would be a ‘waste of time’. It is most unfortunate that an LSC would choose not to lead by example, choose not to seize this opportunity to take action and fulfil their declared responsibility to ‘represent the interests of the staff ’. But what can we expect from from Union for Unity (U4U) and Alliance, a coalition representing the interests of the already-relatively-well-looked-after?  [1]

Continue reading Catch-22: Do as I say, not as I do →

A perfect storm of change: more staff made available to process PMO file updates for Belgian family allowance

Newsletter - 2020-10-23, PMO Print This Post

Belgian-based parents: update your family-allowance information! 

Generation 2004 has received confirmation from the PMO that they are increasing the resources allocated to the family-allowances calculating team as we requested and we’re promised that this should be visible to those still awaiting a response within weeks: let us know whether this is indeed your experience!   Continue reading A perfect storm of change: more staff made available to process PMO file updates for Belgian family allowance →