Legal provisions of COM(2018)38 - Allowances refered to in regulations on standby duty, on particularly arduous working conditions, and on shift work received by EU-officials in 2016

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 19.1.2018

COM(2018) 38 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

FMT:Boldon the use made in 2016 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly arduous working conditions), and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 (on shift work)/FMT


REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

on the use made in 2016 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly arduous working conditions), and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 (on shift work)


1. Introduction

The Council Regulations on standby duty (No 495/77) and on particularly arduous working conditions (No 858/2004) require the Commission to report annually to the Council on the number of officials and other servants in each category receiving the allowances referred to in the respective Regulations and the total related expenditure.

This report is based on the latest full-year figures available at the time of its preparation and thus refers to 2016. It covers all the Institutions, and for the sake of completeness also contains the same type of information on the use of shift work (Council Regulation No 300/76).

2. Standby duty allowance

The legal bases for this allowance are Articles 55 and 56b of the Staff Regulations and Council Regulation No 495/77 of 8 March 1977, as last amended by Council Regulation No 1945/2006 of 11 December 2006.

Payment of the allowance is limited to officials and other servants paid from research appropriations and employed in:

–an establishment of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), or

–indirect action, or

paid from operating appropriations and employed in:

–the running or supervision of technical installations,

–a safety and security department,

–an information and communication technology (ICT) services department,

–a department providing support for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)/European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) or for emergency and crisis coordination arrangements, or

–a mechanism established to provide assistance to Member States 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (MS 24/7), for emergency and crisis coordination arrangements or in services where there is a confirmed necessity for the execution of tasks in order to guarantee a mechanism for providing assistance to Member States.

The standby duty allowance is expressed in points. The number of points granted for each hour of actual standby duty is fixed as follows:

–standby duty at home, working day: 2.15 points;

–standby duty at home, weekend and public holidays: 4.3 points;

–standby duty at the place of work, working day: 11 points;

–standby duty at the place of work, weekend and public holidays: 22 points.

Each point is equal to 0.032 % of the basic salary of an official in grade 1, step 1 (= EUR 0.9056 in 2016).


2.1.Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff) 1 :

InstitutionADSC - ASTCATotal
FG IFG IIFG IIIFG IV
Commission88.33203.3337.337122350
- of which JRC:
408314221142
Council1347200062
Parliament0000000
Court of Justice711001019
Court of Auditors001000010
EESC0000000
CoR0000000
EDPS0000000
Ombudsman0000000
EEAS79000016
Total115.33270.3349.337132457


2.2.Number of beneficiaries per type of standby duty:

InstitutionAt homeAt home and at the place of workAt the place of workTotal
Commission330020350
- of which JRC:
123019142
Council620062
Parliament0000
Court of Justice190019
Court of Auditors100010
EESC0000
CoR0000
EDPS0000
Ombudsman0000
EEAS160016
Total437020457

2.3.Number of beneficiaries per type of employment:

InstitutionJRCIndirect actionTechnical installationsSecurityICTCFSP/ESDPMS 24/7Total
Commission1420654071032350
- of which JRC:
142000000142
Council00015407062
Parliament00000000
Court of Justice0014500016
Court of Auditors0001000010
EESC00000000
CoR00000000
EDPS00000000
Ombudsman00000000
EEAS000493016
Total142079741201032457


3. Allowance for particularly arduous working conditions

The legal bases for this allowance are Article 56c of the Staff Regulations and Council Regulation No 858/2004 of 29 April 2004, which replaced Council Regulation No 1799/72.    

The allowance for particularly arduous working conditions is expressed in terms of points granted for each hour of actual work, with a distinction being made between special working conditions connected with ‘safety of the individual’, ‘place of work’ and ‘nature of work’. The number of points varies between 2, e.g. for an average sound level exceeding 85 decibels, and an upper limit of 50 in the case of an official wearing a self-contained fire protection suit. Each point is equal to 0.032 % of the basic salary of an official in grade 1, step 1 (= EUR 0.9056 in 2016).


3.1.Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff):

InstitutionADSC - ASTContract staffTotal
FG IFG IIFG IIIFG IV
Commission3716129006233
- of which JRC:
3715619006218
Council0000000
Parliament0000000
Court of Justice0000000
Court of Auditors0000000
EESC0000000
CoR0000000
EDPS0000000
Ombudsman0000000
EEAS0000000
Total3716129006233

4. Shift work allowance

The legal bases for this allowance are Article 56a of the Staff Regulations and Council Regulation No 300/76 of 9 February 1976, as last amended by Council Regulation No 1873/2006 of 11 December 2006.

Payment of the allowance is limited to officials and other servants paid from research appropriations and employed in:

–an establishment of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), or

–indirect action, or

paid from operating appropriations and employed in:

–an information and communication technology (ICT) services department,

–a safety and security department,

–a telephone switchboard/information service or on a reception desk,

–a department providing support for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)/European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) or for emergency and crisis coordination arrangements,

–a service providing support for emergency or crisis coordination arrangements, or

–the running or supervision of technical installations.

The following figures indicate the number of allowances granted by each institution for 2016.


4.1.Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff):

InstitutionADSC - ASTCATotal
FG IFG IIFG IIIFG IV
Commission1580181630132
- of which JRC:
731600044
Council077180086
Parliament0474991590570
Court of Justice0000000
Court of Auditors001400014
EESC0000000
CoR0000000
EDPS0000000
Ombudsman0000000
EEAS037010038
Total1524153240120840


Four different rates of the monthly allowance are provided for (2016 figures):

–rate 1: work involving two shifts, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 407.50;

–rate 2: work involving two shifts, including nights, weekends and public holidays: EUR 615.05;

–rate 3: 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 672.48;

–rate 4: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: EUR 916.81.


4.2.Number of beneficiaries per rate:

InstitutionRate 1Rate 2Rate 3Rate 4Total
EUR 407.50 EUR 615.05EUR 672.48 EUR 916.81 
Commission1816890132
- of which JRC:
01682044
Council43004386
Parliament284197089570
Court of Justice00000
Court of Auditors1001314
EESC00000
CoR00000
EDPS00000
Ombudsman00000
EEAS28001038
Total3742138245840


4.3.Number of beneficiaries per type of employment:

InstitutionJRCCrisis/emerg. coord.

ICTSecuritySwitchboard/receptionCFSP/
ESDP
Tech. Inst.Ind. ActionTotal
Commission441617540010132
- of which JRC:
44000000044
Council00086000086
Parliament00055020000570
Court of Justice000000000
Court of Auditors00013100014
EESC000000000
CoR000000000
EDPS000000000
Ombudsman000000000
EEAS0014140100038
Total441631717211010840


5. Services concerned and reasons

The Council, the Commission, the EEAS (which took over much of the former DG RELEX) and the Court of Auditors use standby duty and shift work and pay the allowances provided for by the legislation.

The European Parliament does not have standby duty and only pays allowances for shift work.

The Commission remains the only institution to pay allowances for particularly arduous working conditions, at the JRC and the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB).


5.1.Reasons for standby duty

Commission:    
Joint Research Centre (JRC)    
In 2016, the Commission paid allowances for standby duty to 350 members of its staff. Around 41 % (142) are employed at one of the Research Centres, representing a slight decrease compared to 2015. This results from (1) the abolition of the allowance granted to the ‘Fire & Rescue’ team in Karlsruhe and (2) the replacement of the ‘IPR WINTER 2015/2016’ temporary standby duty with a framework contract. The reasons for standby duty are, as in previous years, generally security- and safety-related (fire-fighting service, radiation monitoring, radiation protection, etc.). In most cases at the JRC, standby duty is carried out at home, with the exception of Ispra and Karlsruhe, where the duties are undertaken at the place of work – or at home and at the place of work – owing to the specific nature of the tasks to be performed.

Other    
In the other Commission Directorates-General, there was little change compared to 2015. The standby services are mainly used for security and safety, technical installations and IT services, plus assistance for Member States.    

Council: The Council paid allowances for standby services to 62 members of its staff in 2016 (an increase of 15 people compared to 2015). The fields in question were information and communication technology (ICT) services, security services and support for the CFSP/ESDP. In 2016, standby duty was performed exclusively at home.

Court of Auditors: The Court of Auditors paid allowances for standby services at home to 10 members of its staff in 2016.

EEAS: In 2016, the EEAS paid allowances for standby services at home to 16 members of its staff in three fields: security services, support for the CFSP/ESDP, and information and communication technology (ICT) services.

Court of Justice: In 2016, the Court of Justice paid allowances for standby services at home to 19 members of its staff. This service was established in November 2014 at the DirectorateGeneral for Infrastructure to cover the supervision of technical installations and performance of security-related tasks.


5.2.Reasons for using the allowance for particularly arduous working conditions

Commission: The Commission is the only institution to have used this possibility in 2016. The Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB) introduced it in one of its services (reproduction service) in 2008; the Joint Research Centre was already using it.

In 2016, the total number of hours worked under particularly arduous conditions was broken down as follows:

Ø67 066.91 hours relating to individual protection (for example, the wearing of particularly uncomfortable protective clothing),

Ø117 496.59 hours relating to the place of work (for example, high noise levels, dangerous sites), and

Ø13 779.53 hours relating to the nature of the work (for example, handling of corrosive substances).


5.3.Reasons for shift work

Commission: Within the Commission, it is the JRC (for reasons relating to the nature of the tasks) and DG HR (safety and security department) which have the greatest need for this type of work organisation (44 and 46 persons respectively in 2016).

In 2016 shift work was performed in the other DGs (operating budget) by 42 persons in the following types of services:

–Security and prevention: 8 (OIL)

–Technical installations: 1 (PO)

–Information and communication technology (ICT): 17 (DG COMM)

–Assistance to Member States: 16 (DG ECHO)

The shift work arrangement at DG COMM was established in 2015 in order to prepare press reviews for the President, the College and the Spokesperson’s Service.

The around-the-clock service at DG ECHO has been operational since 2013 following the establishment of a Monitoring and Information Centre to assist Member States and the Commission during disasters.

All four rates (types of allowance) are applied in the Commission, with rate 4 (continuous service) being used mainly in the security services.

Council: The opening of the new Europa building has had a signficant and direct impact on the services responsible for the safety and security of property and people within the institution.

Existing staff in the Security Office, who are required to perform shift work (rate 1) and to provide a continuous service (rate 4) have had to be reorganised and have their numbers increased to cater for the opening and running of the new building.

The Prevention service increased the size of its shiftwork team (rate 1) during the first half of the year, before moving to a continuous service from 1 July 2016. This was made necessary by both the entry into service of the Europa building and the fact that the team members had to take on the tasks previously carried out by external staff on top of their usual responsibilities.

The reorganisation of these services, which include AST officials and contract staff, led to an increase in the number of allowances in 2016 (86) compared to 2015 (61).

European Parliament: To safeguard and protect people, infrastructure, information and events occurring during public holidays, weekends or nights and to ensure the continued presence of security staff in buildings while avoiding recourse to overtime, which would increase Parliament's budget, it was decided to apply Council Regulation 300/76 of 9 February 1976, as last amended by Council Regulation No 1873/2006 of 11 December 2006, and to replace overtime by specific work patterns. Therefore, security and prevention staff are entitled to the allowance for shift work.

Following a significant increase in 2015 (503), 570 allowances were granted for shift work at the Parliament for 2016. This allowance is mainly used in the field of security and, to a lesser extent, in the telephone service/reception domain. The increase recorded for 2016 again relates to security.

Shift work consists of either a two-shift arrangement (rate 1), a two-shift arrangement including nights, weekends and public holidays (rate 2) or a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4).

Court of Auditors: The Court of Auditors has been using shift work in the fields of security and telephone service/reception since 2011. Shift work consists of either a two-shift arrangement (rate 1) or a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4). A total of 14 allowances were paid in 2016.

EEAS: In 2016, the EEAS paid 38 allowances in the fields of information and communication technology (ICT), security, and the CFSP/ESDP.


6. Budget expenditure, per institution and per allowance (in EUR)

InstitutionShift workStandby dutyArduous working conditionsTotal
Commission953 248.281 301 223.86613 435.602 867 907.74
- of which JRC:
256 513.34552 639.63575 072.361 384 225.33
Council500 310.65179 622.870679 933.52
Parliament3 382 177 87003 382 177 87
Court of Justice014 631.00014 631.00
Court of Auditors118 897.5013 544.950132 442.45
EESC0000
CoR0000
EDPS0000
Ombudsman0000
EEAS226 741.8060 942.480287 684.28
Total5 181 376.101 569 965.16613 435.607 364 776.86

The amount spent on the three allowances in all the European Institutions stood at EUR 7 364 776.86 in 2016 (EUR 6 394 289.11 in 2015).

(1)

At OLAF, standby duty is carried out 24/7 by 0.33 AD/0.33 SC/AST/0.33 FG I (total = 1 beneficiary) from the security standby team.