We will add the presentation from our February 2025 event here and below you’ll find an extended version of a frequently asked questions (FAQs) based on the questions asked there.
If there’s something here that you can add to, that you’d like more information on or that you’d like to challenge (we’re open to all input!) then please get in touch: we’re here for you ! Thanks very much to all who attended!
Feel free to ctrl+f and search for keywords, you don’t have to read the whole thing !
Role/function group
- Where can I find which tasks belong to which function groups?
- All
- European Court of Auditors, 2020,Special Report 23/2020: The European Personnel Selection Office: Time to adapt the selection process to changing recruitment needs. Indicative tasks p.45
- European Court of Auditors, 2019, Special report no 15/2019: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission – Big savings but not without consequences for staff. Indicative tasks p.50
- Vacancies>Actions>View vacancies (right hand menu) Check out those descriptions and keywords.
- Assistants (ASTs) and secretaries and clerks (AST/SC)
- Staff Regulation Annex I Types of posts in each function group, as provided for in Article 5(4)
- Administrators (ADs)
- Official Journal C177A 05.2019 NOTICE OF OPEN COMPETITION EPSO/AD/373/19 — ADMINISTRATORS (AD 5) p.9
- From sysperII appraisal certification tab
- Strategic analysis
- Policy analysis
- Economic analysis
- Policy development
- Personnel policy planning
- Policy monitoring
- Policy coordination
- Managing legislation
- Representation and negotiation
- Project /process management
- IT service management
- Technical analysis and advice
- Management and planning
- Human resources management
- Internal coordination and consultation
- Inter-service coordination and consultation
- Horizontal coordination
- Information, communication, publications
- External communication
- Internal communication: drafting of information reports and design of information meetings (for unit members, management, Commission members, etc.).
- List of tasks normally performed by Administrators
- Are AST and AST/SC in the same function group?
No, while they share part of a name (‘AST’) they are completely separate. There are 3 function groups for officials and Temporary Agents: administrators (AD), assistants (AST) and secretaries and clerks (AST/SC). See slide 9.
- So, where is the main difference between function groups AST/SC and AST?
- Tasks (see below, though, as highlighted in the the European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special Report 24/2024: EU Civil service A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management (and replies) these are wildly out of date and need to be reconfigured),
- certification (exclusively for ASTs, no AST/SC equivalent),
- salary,
- very small net salary increase,
- promotion speed (officials)[1] which appears to be going slower than the stated average since the AST/SC funtion group has been retrofitted into a system not designed for it and there are so few AST/SC staff that they do not have the mass to generate a corresponding promotion quota. Please appeal in June if your name is not on the draft promotion list,
- career perspectives (the top of the scale is AST/SC6, which roughly corresponds to an AST/AD5 salarywise) and
- since this function group was created in 2014, AST/SCs accrue pension rights at the lowest rate (1.8%) and will likely be eligible for the ‘minimum subsistence’ pension only. Please check likely outcomes before doing a transfer in of pension contributions made elsewhere: if you will remain an AST/SC it may not be worthwhile.
- Can you move to a different function group?
AD: where would they go?
AST: yes, via any or all of the following
- external EPSO competitions to any function group (to come back in from outside/be rerecruited)
- the 2025-2027 internal competitions to the next function group: AD (no longer limited to within the same function group (this artificial restriction has no basis in the staff regulations))
- certification.
AST/SC: yes, via either or both of the following
- external EPSO competitions to any function group
- the 2025-2027 internal competitions to the next function group: AST
Unfortunately there is NO certification or equivalent as yet for AST/SC.
- Can an AST/SC who reaches the top of the scale (AST/SC6, roughly equivalent to AST5) move to a an AST6 role?
No, see question 4, for AST/SCs movement between function groups is via competition (internal or external).
Mismatch between function groups/tasks
- Can ASTs/SCs find themselves doing administrator (AD) of assistant (AST) tasks?
- Yes, this does happen and the only place for it to be recognised/compensated is via the promotions system, so please shout about it there and appeal in June if your name is not on the draft promotion list (see question 3): it’s possible there was not enough quota to promote you. There the criteria are for promotion are:
- merit (how good your career development review (CDR) reports) are
- languages used at work
- responsibility (especially for people or money)
- But I’m not a secretary or a clerk! Why the name?
Yes, it’s a misnomer and includes e.g. bodyguards and drivers. Ostensibly the new AST/SC function group was to reseparate assistants (old category B) from secretaries and clerks (old category C) with no mention of those in manual roles (old category D). i.e. to resestablish a post-2014 equivalent of the old pre-2004 category C, while starting lower salarywise than the old category D.
This means that the AST/SC1 is below the subsistance salary of AST1 used to calculate pension, the invalidity allowance etc.
Pre-2004 Commission there were 4 staff function groups (‘categories’):
A administrators
B assistants
C secretaries and clerks
D those carrying out manual roles e.g. ushers or drivers
But that is not quite what happened. this is what we currently have:
AD administrators (old category A)
AST assistants (old category B)
AST/SC everybody else (secretaries and clerks (old C) AND those carrying out manual roles (old D)).
- So an AST/SC might do tasks from all different groups?
Yes, and it can and does happen. The European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special Report 24/2024: EU Civil service A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management (and replies) highlights this on several occasions.
ECA Recommendation 3b highlights a need to map tasks and update job descriptions to address this and to improve career options (paragraphs 91-97).
Taken to an extreme, a mismatch between job description and tasks carried out can fall within the definition of bullying/harassment: ‘not being allocated any task corresponding to the job description or systematically being given tasks which do not meet their profile’ (MyIntracomm)
- Can an AST/SC become an AST?
Yes, see question 4.
- Roles can change function group?
Yes, they can and do: why pay an AD for something you can get an AST or an AST/SC to do? A Generation 2004 member has opened an official complaint with regards to a job which jumped down the function groups until it became an AST/SC role with almost no change in the job description!
- Will this function group disappear?
No, we see no such plans, but it should ‘evolve’. For the European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special Report 24/2024: EU Civil service A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management (and replies) this would be done via an update in the desciption of roles and an improved career outlook.
- What happens if I’m overqualified for the role/function group or doing tasks above my pay grade?
Shout about it in your evaluation at promotion time and in your application for competitions. Use the list in question 1 to show tasks.
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[1] Not all Temporary Agents can be promoted.
What is normal for promotion/reclassification?
| Staff | Appraisal | Reward possible? | Minimum time in grade (‘seniority’) to be eligible | Average speed of reward |
| Officials | Yes | Promotion | 2 years | staff regulations Annex I.B and our chart with those percentages converted to years |
| Temporary agents (2a and 2d) | Yes | Reclassification (JRC/GROW/RTD only?) [*] | 2 years | Staff Regulations Annex I.B |
| Temporary agents (2b, 2c, 2e, 2f) | Yes | no[**] | Not applicable (N/A) | N/A |
| Contract Agents 3a | Yes | reclassification | 2 years | Page 3 of Ares(2021)2467829 – 12/04/2021 CSC note on CA 3a |
| Contract Agents 3b | Yes | no | ≤ 3 years | N/A |
[*] There is a joint committee on reclassification (not promotion) for Temporary Agents (TAs) of JRC/GROW/RTD only. We also see TAs with permanent contracts (yes, mental gymnastics are necessary here: to be permanently temporary) 2a and 2d listed for reclassification.
[**] 16.01.2023 HR response to our questions on TAs: Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) (Article 15(2)) which states that only the provisions on annual reports [appraisal] from the Staff Regulations (SR) (Article 43) apply by analogy to TAs. By contrast, there is no such provision concerning promotion (SR Article 45). This means that, in principle, TAs are not subject to promotion. This principle is confirmed in the case-law of the General Court (e.g. T-366/15 P, paragraph 48). Nevertheless, different agencies (here also) may apply Article 54 of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants (CEOS) differently and may allow for promotion of TAs (e.g. REA)’.
