*Update 12.11.2024: Promotion and reclassification exercise final lists were published. As below, If your name is not on the final list then the only option remaining for you is to file a formal complaint, if you want to exhaust the possibilities.*
Original article: A long time has passed since June, when the draft lists were published, and there’s still some time to go before the final lists are out. Unfortunately, for anyone outside the corresponding committees, there’s nothing to be done on this topic in the meantime: we are all just waiting for the final lists. The last publication date was 10.11.2023, so we expect the timing to be similar in 2024.
The official indicative timeline for promotions estimates mid-November and for reclassifications October/November.
And then what?
If your name is not on that final list then the only option remaining for you is to file a formal complaint, if you want to exhaust the possibilities. This one final step is unlikely to change the outcome, but can sometimes be useful in order to have an explanation. An example would be where your name was on the draft list in June and now not on this final list and you are in active service (i.e. not on unpaid leave/CCP), we gave an example of this happening in the September newsletter.
Overall
The whole promotion/reclassification system is less than transparent and often the inclusion of your name on the final list it has less to do with your performance than it does with the quota available for a given year. We’ve made noise about the flaws in the system in the past.
1. There is no evidence that an Institution-wide comparison of merit took place at Joint Preparatory Group and Join Promotion Committee level.
2. An ex-ante-allocation of promotion possibilities among DGs is incompatible with an Institution-wide comparison of merits.
3. The variable quality of reports does not allow for transparent and reproducible comparisons of merit.
In the Commission rewards can be more than a little arbitrary (or even mysterious?), with choices influenced by the perceived value of your tasks or of how visible you are to hierarchy.
The 2025 exercise
The whole evaluation process will begin again in January. There are 2 months left of 2024, is there anything you can do now to make your 2025 evaluation brighter and shinier and to make yourself and your tasks more visible?
What is screening? Is it part of this process?
No, contract agent screening is a sporadic exercise which involves a reassessment with a potential change of function group for staff. It’s more of a readjustment than a reward. It is not a routine, predictable event and, as with the Picard case, can have unforeseen consequences, e.g. in the case of Mr Picard having to sign a new contract and so change the date of entry into service and the age of retirement. This current 2024 edition is only the 6th screening process ever.
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