Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2013)87 - Use of contract staff in 2011 - Main contents
Please note
This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
dossier | COM(2013)87 - Use of contract staff in 2011. |
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source | COM(2013)87 ![]() |
date | 19-02-2013 |
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL on the use of contract staff in 2011 /* COM/2013/087 final */
Contents
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- 1........... Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3
- 2........... Trend in contract staff numbers in the Commission since 2004......................................... 4
- 3........... Distribution of Commission contract staff by gender and function group............................ 4
- 4........... Breakdown of Commission contract staff by nationality.................................................... 6
- 5........... Breakdown of Commission contract staff by department.................................................. 9
- 5.1........ Breakdown by gender and function group..................................................................... 10
- 5.2........ Breakdown by contract type......................................................................................... 11
- 6........... Distribution of contract staff in the other Institutions and Agencies.................................. 13
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Trend in contract staff numbers in the Commission since 2004
- 3. Distribution of Commission contract staff by gender and function group
- FG IV
- 5. Breakdown of Commission contract staff by department
- 5.2.1. 3a contract staff
- 5.2.2. 3b auxiliary contract staff
- ANNEXES
- Annex 2: Breakdown by nationality in the other Institutions (where information available)
- Annex 3: Breakdown by gender and function group in the Agencies (where information available)
- Annex 4: Breakdown by nationality in the other Institutions (where information available)
1........... Introduction.................................................................................................................... 3
2........... Trend in contract staff numbers in the Commission since 2004......................................... 4
3........... Distribution of Commission contract staff by gender and function group............................ 4
4........... Breakdown of Commission contract staff by nationality.................................................... 6
5........... Breakdown of Commission contract staff by department.................................................. 9
5.1........ Breakdown by gender and function group..................................................................... 10
5.2........ Breakdown by contract type......................................................................................... 11
6........... Distribution of contract staff in the other Institutions and Agencies.................................. 13
ANNEXES................................................................................................................................ 14
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL
on the use of contract staff in 2011
This report fulfils the obligation arising from Article 79(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS), which states that ‘the Commission shall provide a yearly report on the use of contract staff including numbers of staff, level and type of posts, geographical balance and budgetary resources per function group’. The report offers a detailed picture of contract staff in service on 31 December 2011, whereas the budgetary data sent every year to the Council's Budget Committee - Working Document, part II - along with each Commission statement of estimates include a table showing contract staff numbers at the time when the draft budget is presented (including contract staff recruited using assigned revenue), i.e. the table as at 1 April of year N-1 (where N is the year of the draft budget), budgetary implementation in year N-2 and requests for appropriations with estimates of full-time equivalents for year N.
This explains any differences in contract staff numbers between the two reports.
This report includes data for all the European Institutions (including the European External Action Service (EEAS) in operation since 1 January 2011) and Agencies as defined in the Staff Regulations. The data for the Commission are more detailed and include staff financed from operational and research lines, plus staff working in offices, delegations, representations and the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Article 80 of the CEOS establishes a link between the function group and the duties that contract staff can perform:
Function group| Grade| Duties
IV| 13 to Administrative, advisory, linguistic and equivalent technical tasks, performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff
III| 8 to Executive tasks, drafting, accountancy and other equivalent technical tasks, performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff
II| 4 to Clerical and secretarial tasks, office management and other equivalent tasks, performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff
I| 1 to Manual and administrative support service tasks, performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff
The category of contract staff was created in 2004. Contract staff have made a useful contribution to the work of the Institutions ever since by carrying out administrative support activities at a lower cost and by bringing in skills which are not always available within the Institution. No competitions have been organised to recruit officials for work as messengers (except in the Parliament) or drivers, or for any other typical FG I duties since the D category was abolished. Only FG I contract staff have been recruited for these duties since 2004 and they can apply for indefinite contracts subject to certain conditions set out in the CEOS and in the general implementing provisions for contract staff.
At the end of 2011, the total number of contract staff across all the Institutions and Agencies exceeded 9 000 (9 679 contract staff members) for the first time. The Commission still employs around two-thirds of these staff members.
The breakdown between the Institutions and Agencies is examined later in this report.
The trend within the Commission since 2004 is as follows:
|| 2011
Number of contract staff| 2 4 5 5 6 5 5977
Y/Y trend|| 44.2%| 78.2%| 10.6%| 4.8%| 4.6%| -0.6%| -0.03%
The rise in contract staff numbers before they stabilised at around 6 000 is due in part to the gradual replacement of auxiliary staff (who numbered almost 3 000 in 2003) with auxiliary contract staff (Article 3b of the CEOS), but also to the replacement of the former Category D officials by contract staff (Article 3a of the CEOS) and to the conversion of permanent official posts into credits for contract staff in the Offices. Contract staff were also taken on as temporary replacements for permanent staff, as provided for in Article 3b of the CEOS.
Contract staff numbers grew each year up to 2009 before dipping slightly in 2010. This reduction is largely explained by the delay in obtaining the results of the new CAST selection procedures in 2010, owing to the fact that the profile tests for this CAST were organised late.
The Commission's figures appear to show a stabilisation in 2011, but this is in fact the result of two opposite effects. On the one hand, the creation of the EEAS removed 277 contract staff[1] from the Commission’s staff (working for DG RELEX both in delegations and at headquarters) and on the other, the Commission recruited 275 contract staff between 2010 and 2011[2]. Without the contract staff moving to the EEAS, there would have been a 4.6% increase between 2010 and 2011, which was the average rate of increase noted in 2008 and 2009.
The distribution of contract staff by function group is shown in the table below. It is worth pointing out that since the results of the second part of the 2010 CAST tests there has been a trend in several departments to reclassify their FG II contract staff under FG III. If this trend were to continue, given a constant budget allocation, this process should reduce the total number of contract staff.
Breakdown by gender and function group[3]:
On 31 December 2011, 5 977 contract staff were working at the Commission. The most common function group is FG II. Persons in this group carry out secretarial or similar duties, but also childcare duties. Next are contract staff in FG IV and FG III. Contract staff in FG I make up just 13.9% of the total, which is a reduction of 1.3% compared with 2010.
With regard to the breakdown by gender, the trend noted last year when for the first time, women outnumbered men in FG IV (50.46%) continued in 2011. Currently 51.6% of contract staff in FG IV are women. The breakdown in the other function groups is comparable to 2010, i.e. we see a higher number of women in FG II (82.9%) and FG III (58.8%), although this is down by about 1 percentage point, while men predominate in FG I (62.6%). Again, this reflects the traditional breakdown by type of duties performed: FG IIs are mainly secretaries or childcare workers while the majority of FG Is work as messengers. Overall, the balance between men and women is stable by comparison with last year, with women accounting for 63.2% of all contract staff (as against 62.7% in 2010).
4. Breakdown of Commission contract staff by nationality[4]
It is interesting to note that most of the 27 nationalities of contract staff followed a similar growth pattern from 2005 to 2011 with the notable exception of Bulgarians, Romanians (linked to these countries’ recent accession to the EU) and Hungarians. The number of staff of these nationalities rose more sharply. The numbers of Irish, Luxembourgish and Maltese staff, on the other hand, fell (with a drop of more than 50% in the case of Luxembourgers, admittedly a very small contingent). The figures for UK nationals have remained stable at a low level since 2005.
Information about the organisation of contract staff selection tests needs to be better distributed to allow the less well represented Member States to increase the number of their applicants for these positions.
In 2011 the most represented nationalities among the 5 977 contract staff were, in order, Belgian, Italian, French, Spanish and Romanian, followed by German, and Polish and Greek in equal seventh place. The order has been the same for the first four nationalities since 2005. Romania overtook Germany in 2011 with 5% of the contract staff.
The main reason for this is the location of the European Institutions' head offices. Successful candidates are more likely to accept a limited-term posting if they are resident at or near the place where the Institution offers them a job. It should be borne in mind that most recruitment is at contract staff 3b level which involves an initial contract for one year, followed by a two-year extension, making a maximum of three years. Consequently, it is sometimes hard for successful candidates to leave their country of origin (especially if they have a family) and to move to the Institution’s headquarters for a limited duration. The same trend linked to the place of residence is apparent from the table showing the breakdown by nationality in the other Institutions and Agencies. The less favourable financial conditions certainly also play a role in determining how attractive a post outside the Member State of residence will be.
The other reason, of course, is the requirement to pass a CAST selection test in order to be eligible for recruitment as contract staff. No new CAST selection procedure was completed in 2011. Recruitments are made on the basis of the old CAST lists which are still available but which are running out of some profiles, particularly for some nationalities. It should be stressed, however, that there is no minimum quota per nationality. Recruitment is on the basis of the required profile and the applicants' abilities and language knowledge.
Breakdown of contract staff by gender and function group[5]
FG III
FG II
FG I
These tables allow the breakdown by function group, nationality and gender to be analysed. Additional tables showing the breakdown by gender are annexed. It can be noted that all 27 Member States are represented in FG IV and FG III but there are no Luxembourgers in FG III and no Austrians or Maltese in FG 1.
In the following section the data on contract staff have been broken down by Directorate-General (DG). DGs and services are given a budget for recruiting contract staff rather than posts, thus making it very difficult to draw general conclusions as each draws up its own policy for meeting its own specific needs. However, we conclude that the appropriations allocated to the policy of replacing absent staff allow continuity of service to be maintained and that the situation would not be as satisfactory without those temporary replacements.
We should stress that, since 1 January 2011, the European External Action Service (EEAS) has absorbed some of the contract staff working for DG RELEX and the Delegations.
5.1. Breakdown by gender and function group[6]
5.2. Breakdown by contract type[7]
6. Distribution of contract staff in the other Institutions and Agencies[8]
Figures for the numbers of contract staff in the Agencies and other Institutions are included in the annexes broken down by gender and function group (Annex 1) and by nationality (Annex 2).
In 2011 the total number of contract staff in the other Institutions and Agencies was 3 702 against 2 918 in 2010. This increase of 33.7% is largely explained by the fact that the EEAS contract staff are included in this part of the report (313 contract staff) and by the increase in the number of contract staff at the Council (+30%) and the Parliament (+24.5).
These tables reveal the same trends in terms of the breakdown by function group and gender. There are no major differences in the breakdown by nationality either, other than the observation already made last year that the geographical location of the Agency or Institution seems to have an effect on the extent to which each nationality is represented.
Annex 1: Breakdown by gender and function group in the Agencies and other Institutions (where information available)
|| Not disclosed| FG I| FG II| FG III| FG IV| Grand Total
Institution| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total
COURT OF AUDITORS|||||| 59
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS|||||| 48
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE|||||||| 51
COURT OF JUSTICE||||| 116
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS||||| 150
European Data Protection Supervisor||||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN|||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT| 743
EEAS|| 313
|| 1488
|| AT| BE| BG| CY| CZ| DE| DK| EE| ES| FI| FR| GB| GR| HU| IE| IT| LT| LU| LV| MT| NL| PL| PT| RO| SE| SI| SK| Other or ND| Grand Total
COURT OF AUDITORS||||||||||||||| 59
COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS||||||||||||||||| 48
EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE||||||||||||||| 51
COURT OF JUSTICE|||||| 116
COUNCIL OF MINISTERS||||||||||| 150
EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR||||||||||||||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN||||||||||||||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT|| 743
EEAS||||||| 313
|| 1488
|| ND| FG I| FG II| FG III| FG IV| Grand Total
Institution| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| Total| ND| F| M| tal| ND| F| M| Total
ACER (Agency)||||||||||||||||||| 1
EUROPEAN NETWORK INFORMATION SECURITY AGENCY||||||||||||| 13
EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY|||||||| 62
EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION||||||| 82
EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY|||||||||||| 58
EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK||||||||||| 24
EUROPEAN MARITIME SAFETY AGENCY||||||||| 25
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY||||||||||| 57
EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY||||||||| 112
EDUCATION, AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY|||| 329
RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY||||||| 339
EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE AGENCY||||||| 241
EXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION||||||||||| 120
EXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMME||||||||| 36
EUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY|||||||||||||| 8
COMMUNITY FISHERIES CONTROL AGENCY||||||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY|||||||||||||| 6
EUROPEAN GNSS SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY|||||||||||||| 13
EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY|||||||| 89
European Securities and Markets Authority||||||||||||||||| 5
TRANSLATION CENTRE FOR THE BODIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION|||||||||| 17
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL|||||||| 82
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING||||||||| 25
EUROPEAN POLICE COLLEGE|||||||||||||| 8
EIOPA|||||||||||||| 6
ARTEMIS JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||| 6
CLEAN SKY JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||||| 5
ENIAC JOINT UNDERTAKING||||||||||||||||| 7
EUROPEAN JOINT UNDERTAKING FOR ITER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUSION ENERGY||||||| 96
INNOVATIVE MEDICINES INITIATIVE JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||| 6
SESAR JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||||| 4
FUEL CELLS AND HYDROGEN JOINT UNDERTAKING||||||||||||||||| 2
EUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE||||||||||||||||| 2
EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION||||||||||||| 31
EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS||||||||||||| 9
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY|||||||||||| 8
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY||||||||||||| 17
TRANS-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK||||||||||| 66
EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION||||||||||||| 27
EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE ON RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA|||||||||| 18
OFFICE FOR HARMONISATION IN THE INTERNAL MARKET||||||||||||| 22
OFFICE OF THE BODY OF EUROPEAN REGULATORS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS||||||||||||||||||| 1
EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE|||||||| 82
EUROPEAN BODY FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF JUDICIAL COOPERATION (EUROJUST)||||||| 43
|| 2214
|| AT| BE| BG| CY| CZ| DE| DK| EE| ES| FI| FR| GB| GR| HU| IE| IT| LT| LU| LV| MT| NL| PL| PT| RO| SE| SI| SK| Other or ND| Grand Total
ACER (Agency)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 1
EUROPEAN NETWORK INFORMATION SECURITY AGENCY|||||||||||||||||||||| 13
EUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY|||||||||||| 62
EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION|||||||||||||||| 82
EUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY|||||||||||||||||| 58
EUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK|||||||||||||||||||| 24
EUROPEAN MARITIME SAFETY AGENCY|||||||||||||||||||| 25
EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY||||||||||| 57
EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY||||||| 112
EDUCATION, AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY||| 329
RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY|||||| 339
EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE AGENCY||||||||| 241
EXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND INNOVATION|||||||||||| 120
EXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMME|||||||||||| 36
EUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY|||||||||||||||||||||||||| 8
COMMUNITY FISHERIES CONTROL AGENCY||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 4
EUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY|||||||||||||||||||||||| 6
EUROPEAN GNSS SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY||||||||||||||||||||| 13
EUROPEAN SECURITIES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY||||||||||||||||||||||||| 5
EUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY||||||||||| 89
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA)|||||||||||||||||||||||| 6
TRANSLATION CENTRE FOR THE BODIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION|||||||||||||||||||| 17
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL||||||| 82
EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING||||||||||||||||||||||| 25
EUROPEAN POLICE COLLEGE|||||||||||||||||||||| 8
ARTEMIS JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||||||||||||| 6
CLEAN SKY JOINT UNDERTAKING||||||||||||||||||||||||| 5
ENIAC JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||||||||||||||| 7
EUROPEAN JOINT UNDERTAKING FOR ITER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUSION ENERGY||||||||||||| 96
INNOVATIVE MEDICINES INITIATIVE JOINT UNDERTAKING||||||||||||||||||||||| 6
SESAR JOINT UNDERTAKING|||||||||||||||||||||||||| 4
FUEL CELLS AND HYDROGEN JOINT UNDERTAKING||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 2
EUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 2
EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION|||||||||||||||||| 31
EUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS|||||||||||||||||||||||| 9
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY.|||||||||||||||||||||||| 8
EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY|||||||||||||||||||| 17
TRANS-EUROPEAN TRANSPORT NETWORK||||||||||| 66
EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION||||||||||||||||||||||| 27
EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE ON RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA||||||||||||||||| 18
OFFICE FOR HARMONISATION IN THE INTERNAL MARKET|||||||||||||||| 22
OFFICE OF THE BODY OF EUROPEAN REGULATORS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS|||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 1
EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE|||||||||||| 82
EUROPEAN BODY FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF JUDICIAL COOPERATION (EUROJUST)|||||||||||| 43
|| 2214
[1] Source: Sysper2
[2] Source: Sysper2
[3] Source : Commission Statistical Bulletin.
[4] Source: Commission Statistical Bulletin.
[5] Source: Commission Statistical Bulletin.
[6] Source: Commission Statistical Bulletin.
[7] Source: Commission Statistical Bulletin.
[8] Source: Eurostat