|
RECLASSIFICATION EXERCISE OF ARTICLE 3a CONTRACT STAFF in
2009
This Administrative Notice concerns the reclassification exercise of
Article 3a contract staff in 2009.
Pursuant to Article 87(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other
Servants (CEOS), contract staff referred to in Article 3a (hereinafter
"Contract Staff") who fulfil the conditions listed below may be classed
in the first step of the grade directly above their current grade, in
the same function group, by a decision of the Authority Responsible for
Concluding Contracts of Employment (Appointing Authority). This
procedure is hereinafter referred to as 'the reclassification exercise'.
In 2007 and 2008, evaluation reports were drawn up in parallel with the
reclassification exercises, as provided for in Article 87(1) of the
CEOS. This year it is anticipated that there will be a reclassification
exercise with retroactive effect from 1 January 2009 without having to
first draw up an evaluation report.
- WHICH CONTRACT STAFF ARE CONCERNED?
Only Article 3a (3bis in French) Contract Staff can be reclassified.
This includes Contract Staff in function group 1 working in any of
the Commission's departments, and Contract Staff in function groups
II, III and IV working in one of the European Commission's Offices,
Representations or Delegations.
In addition to belonging to the Article 3a subcategory of Contract
Staff, to be eligible staff must:
- have been in the same grade for at least two years on 1
November 2009 and
- have a contract (or series of contracts) for a total
duration of at least three years.
Contract Staff who fulfils these two criteria will be
'reclassifiable'.
- COMPARISON OF MERIT
The Appointing Authority will compare merit, pursuant to Article
87(3) of the CEOS. For the 2009 exercise, this comparison will be
done without first drawing up an evaluation report for 2008, as
evaluation reports have to be drawn up only once every two years. It
is anticipated that performance in 2008 and 2009 will be evaluated
in 2010.
Merit must be compared fairly using existing reports (evaluation
reports and/or probationary period reports) and other comparable
data sources and information.
2.1. DG ADMIN prepares the merit comparison
DG ADMIN proposes to use the method applied last year and described
in the general implementing provisions of Article 87(3) CEOS of 29
July 2008 (which are no longer in force) as a basis for the
comparison of merit and the Appointing Authority's Decision. In this
way merit-worthy 'reclassifiable' staff are ranked according to
seven merit categories numbered from 1 to 7, from the most
merit-worthy to the least. Only Contract Staff in the top merit
categories can be reclassified.
DG ADMIN will prepare a list of the merit categories 1 to 7 for
'reclassifiable' Contract Staff based in particular on the general
assessment in the Contract Staff's evaluation reports. This list
will be sent to the DGs and services so they can check it.
2.2. The DGs and services check and make proposals
Each DG and service is asked to point out the following to DG ADMIN:
- Missing names and/or errors in the lists of
'reclassifiable' Contract Staff that have been circulated for
their service.
- Contract Staff with evaluation reports for which the
merit group is clearly no longer appropriate. This could be
the case for contract staff facing a dismissal procedure or
having received a warning. Contract staff in this situation can
be considered as being unworthy and should, if need be, be
removed from the merit groups.
- Contract staff recruited in 2007 who did not receive any
evaluation report. Particular attention should be paid to
the merit of the contract staff concerned. Other information
from the Contract Staff's file (for example, probationary period
report and job description) can be used to assess their merit in
the absence of an evaluation report.
2.3. The Joint Committee harmonises and makes proposals
Once the previous phase has been completed, DG ADMIN will
consolidate the proposals from the DGs and services and present them
to the Joint Committee which will give its opinion based on a
comparison of the proposals, not DG by DG but for the entire
Commission, and prepare the Appointing Authority's Decision. The
Joint Reclassification Committee will have at its disposal any
documents which may assist it in carrying out its work.
Having considered this new list of merit-worthy and reclassifiable
Contract Staff drawn up as a result of the Committee's work, and
taking account of budgetary constraints, the Joint Committee will
put forward the list by grade of Contract Staff eligible for
reclassification in 2009. If there should be any ex-aequo
cases (where Contract Staff are considered to be of equal merit but
it is not possible to reclassify them all), the Committee will
propose secondary criteria such as, for example, seniority in the
grade, on the basis of which the decision will be made.
2.4. The Appointing Authority makes its decision
At the end of this procedure the Appointing Authority will have
three levels of analysis to enable it to compare the merits required
by the CEOS: the preparatory phase by DG ADMIN, the verification and
proposals for modifications from the DGs and services and, finally,
the Joint Committee's recommendations. In particular, the Appointing
Authority will examine all opinions drawn up by the Joint
Reclassification Committee and will take its finale decision on
Contract Staff to be reclassified in 2009 accordingly. The
reclassification Decision is to be taken in mid-November.
A new administrative notice will be published together with a list
of the names of the Contract Staff who are to be reclassified in
2009. These members of staff will be classed in the first step of
the grade immediately above their current grade, pursuant to Article
87(3) of the CEOS. The reclassification will take effect from 1
January 2009 for Contract Staff with two years of seniority on that
date. Contract Staff nominated for reclassification who reaches two
years of seniority in their grade during 2009 will be reclassified
with effect from the first day of the month following the date on
which they reached the required two years of seniority.
The salary increase linked to the reclassification will be paid with
the salary for December 2009.
Contract Staff whose names do not appear on the list of reclassified
Contract Staff who wish to do so may appeal against the Appointing
Authority's decision by lodging a complaint about the decision not
to reclassify them in accordance with Article 46 of the CEOS and
Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations, which is applicable by
analogy. They have 3 months from the date when the list of
reclassified Contract Staff is published in which to appeal.
Please contact the Human Resources unit of your DG or service, or
send an email to the functional mailbox
ADMIN CA
EVALUATION if you have any questions about this exercise.
|
