• a request for that authority to take a decision;
  
• a complaint seeking the annulment or amendment of a decision taken by the appropriate authority, including rejection of a request, constituting an act prejudicial to him or her.

1. DEFINITION
   By a request under Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations, an official (or a person subject to the Staff Regulations) asks the appropriate authority to take a decision concerning him or her.
   Examples:
   
   
   • request for the installation allowance;
     
   • request to draw up a staff report.
   
   
   The purpose is therefore to secure a decision from the appropriate authority, which may either grant the request or, by rejecting it, open the way to a complaint.
   
   In no circumstances may the request seek revision of a decision already taken.
   
   

2. THE PERSON CONCERNED
   2.1. Who may make request?
   
   Any person subject to the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities, and, by analogy, temporary staff, auxiliary staff and special advisers covered by the Conditions of employment of other servants, may make a request under Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations to the appointing authority or authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment, as appropriate.
   
   The persons referred to in the Staff Regulations are not only the serving staff listed above but also other categories such as probationers awaiting establishment, former staff, those entitled under them in the event of death and candidates in a competition. ⁽²⁾
   
   2.2. Addressee:
   
   Whether explicitly or implicitly, the addressee of the request is the appointing authority ⁽³⁾. Accordingly, the memorandum making the request is addressed to the appointing authority and headed 'Request under Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations'. The power delegated to the appointing authority by Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations is exercised by the persons listed in the Commission decision of 21 January 1998 (Administrative Notice No 1031 of 23 February 1998).
   
   2.3. Place and method of submission:
   
   The request should be sent to the Staff Regulations Unit (DG ADMIN.B.2), SC-11 5/45.
   
   The registration stamp of the Staff Regulations Unit will be taken as proof of the date the request was submitted.
   
   To facilitate the procedure, the person concerned must make the request using a form (see below), one copy of which must be sent via the hierarchical superior in the case of an official or other servant unless the request is confidential or concerns personal or family private affairs.
   
   2.4. Time allowed for submission:
   
   A request may be made at any time. However, a request concerning the same matter as an earlier request or complaint which has received no reply or a negative reply may not reopen the period for the submission of a complaint allowed by Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations (see 3.2 below).
   
   2.5. Form and content:
   
   The form, which is not subject to any particular conditions, is not the factor which determines whether a request is to be regarded as such. Only the contents may do this. Accordingly, the administration may regard a submission inviting it to review an earlier decision as a complaint even if it is entitled 'request'.
   
   A request must normally indicate that it is a request under Article 90(1) of the Staff Regulations and state the identity of the person concerned, its purpose and the reasons why it is being made and include place, date and signature. Any document assisting understanding of the problem should be attached.
   
   

3. THE ADMINISTRATION
   3.1. Treatment of the request:
   
   There is no particular procedure for dealing with a request. It includes consideration of the purpose of the request by the department responsible for taking a decision and any checks needed to adopt that decision.
   
   The Staff Regulations Unit sends the person making the request an acknowledgement, if possible by electronic mail.
   
   3.2. Decision and time allowed:
   
   The decision adopted by the appropriate authority must be reasoned and sent to the person concerned, with no particular formality, within four months from the date the request was made.
   
   Time periods will be calculated from the date of registration by the Staff Regulations Unit.
   
   The person concerned may make a complaint against rejection of the request within three months from the date of notification of the decision.
   
   Failure to reply to a request within the period of four months allowed to the appointing authority to adopt its decision means that the request has been implicitly rejected. A complaint against such a decision may also be made within three months of the implicit rejection. A late reply by the appointing authority (after the four-month period) does not reopen the three-month period available for making a complaint.
   
   
   COMPLAINT
   
   

4. DEFINITION
   By making a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations⁽⁴⁾ , an official contests a decision by the appropriate authority which he or she considers prejudicial; the authority has either taken an explicit or implicit rejection decision or it has failed to take a measure required by the Staff Regulations:
   Examples :
   
   
   • complaint against a refusal to reimburse medical expenses;
     
   • complaint against a decision fixing classification in grade or step;
     
   • complaint against a decision not to pay daily allowances on recruitment.
   
   
   Unlike a request, a complaint presupposes the prior existence of an administrative act taken by the appropriate authority. This act may be challenged if it is definitive (preparatory acts may not be challenged) and personally and individually prejudicial (the person concerned must have a personal, legitimate, direct, substantive and current interest in having the decision cancelled or amended).
   
   It should be noted that a complaint is the only means provided by the Staff Regulations for a member of staff to contest a decision by the appropriate authority which, in his or her view, affects statutory rights and is prejudicial. Any request for the review or reconsideration of such a decision should therefore be regarded as a complaint for the purposes of compliance with the deadlines listed below⁽⁵⁾ .
   
   
   

5. THE PERSON CONCERNED
   5.1. Who may make a complaint?
   
   Any person subject to the Staff Regulations of officials of the European Communities, and, by analogy, temporary and auxiliary staff and special advisers covered by the Conditions of employment of other servants, may make a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations to the appointing authority or the authority authorised to conclude contracts of employment, as appropriate.
   
   The persons referred to in the Staff Regulations are not only the serving staff listed above but also other categories such as probationers awaiting establishment, former staff, those entitled under them in the event of death and candidates in a competition. ⁽⁶⁾
   
   5.2. Addressee:
   
   Whether explicitly or implicitly, the addressee of the complaint is the appointing authority⁽⁷⁾ . Accordingly, the memorandum making the complaint should be or will be regarded as being addressed to the appointing authority. The power delegated to the appointing authority by Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations is exercised by the persons listed in the Commission decision of 21 January 1998 (Administrative Notice No 1031 of 23 February 1998). ⁽⁸⁾
   
   5.3. Place and method of submission:
   
   The complaint should be sent to the Staff Regulations Unit (DG ADMIN.B.2), SC-11 5/45.
   If the person concerned is an official or other servant, the Staff Regulations require a further copy of the complaint to be submitted via the hierarchy unless it concerns the immediate superior, in which case it should be sent through the authority next above. This copy of the complaint will also be sent to the Staff Regulations Unit. However, submission via the hierarchy is not necessary if the complaint is confidential or concerns personal or family private affairs.
   
   5.4. Time allowed for submission:
   
   A complaint must be made within three months. This period starts:
   
   
   • on the date of publication of the act if it is a measure of a general nature;
     
   • on the date of notification of the decision to the addressee and in any event no later than the day when the person concerned became aware of it if is a measure of an individual nature; however, if an act of an individual nature is such as to be prejudicial to a person other than the addressee, that period shall begin to run with regard to that person from the day when he or she became aware of it and in any event no later than the date of publication;
     
   • on the date of expiry of the period prescribed for the reply where the complaint is against an implied decision rejecting a request.
   
   
   These periods are matters of public policy and may not be negotiated by the parties. The fact that in a reply the appropriate authority deals with the substance of a complaint which is out of time, and so inadmissible, does not derogate from the deadlines and reopen a right of appeal which had otherwise expired.
   
   The date of submission of the complaint for the purposes of deadlines will be taken as that of the registration stamp of the Staff Regulations Unit. No account will be taken of the time taken for transmission by either the public or internal post.
   
   Acts which contain no points not already made in a previous decision are purely confirmatory and do not have the effect of providing the member of staff with further time.
   
   5.5. Form and content:
   
   Like a request, a complaint is identified by its nature and content, not by its form.
   
   The complaint should normally state the identity of the complainant, the disputed act and its purpose and the grounds and arguments on which it is based and include place, date and signature. Documents which assist a correct assessment of the problems raised should be attached.
   
   

6. THE ADMINISTRATION
   6.1. Treatment of the complaint:
   
   Duly registered complaints are handled and dealt with by the Staff Regulations Unit so that the appointing authority may adopt a reply.
   
   The Staff Regulations Unit will send the complainant an acknowledgement of the complaint, by electronic mail if possible.
   
   At the same time, the Staff Regulations Unit will collect from the departments which took or are concerned by the decision being challenged any information relevant to consideration of the matter.
   
   Complaints concerning the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme are also sent to the Sickness Insurance Management Committee for its opinion.
   
   If necessary, the Staff Regulations Unit may normally organise a meeting to which the complainant, the departments responsible for the decision being challenged, the mediator and staff representatives appointed by the Central Staff Committee are invited and where the complainant may present his or her version of the facts and the arguments set out in the complaint. The complainant may be accompanied by a person of his or her choice or an adviser. The meeting is not an arbitration or decision-making body; it simply enables all the parties concerned to express their views prior to a draft decision.
   
   After this meeting or when the dossier has been sufficiently considered, a draft reply is prepared. After the Legal Service and, if necessary, Financial Control, have given their opinions, the draft is sent for a decision, if it is negative, to the Member of the Commission responsible for personnel and administration (or to the full Commission if the decision is question was taken by that Member). If, however, the planned reply is positive, the decision will normally be taken by the Director-General for Personnel and Administration. The staff representatives designated to attend the inter-departmental meetings will be informed of the action (positive or negative) taken on complaints.
   
   6.2. Decision and time:
   
   The appointing authority has a period of four months from submission of the complaint to reply to it. After that period, the lack of a reply is an implied decision of rejection. The complainant has three months from the date of notification of the reply to the complaint or the implied rejection to appeal to the Court of First Instance of the European Communities against rejection of the complaint, whether express or implied.
   
   When an express decision rejecting a complaint is taken after an implied rejection decision but within the period of three months allowed for lodging of an appeal (but no appeal has been lodged), it reopens the three-month period for making an appeal to the Court of First Instance.
   
   The reply to the complaint is sent to the complainant or to the assistant or Head of the Human Resources Unit of his or her Directorate-General or department or, in the case of staff employed outside the Union, to the Head of Delegation, against signature of an acknowledgement of receipt. In addition, the complainant or his or her adviser may be informed by electronic mail that the reply to the complaint has been sent through the hierarchical superior.
   

footnotes