ATTESTATION PROCEDURE, 2010 EXERCISE:
Call for applications
The attestation1 procedure
allows officials in the assistants' function group (herinafter "function
group AST") who are currently in the C (AST1-7) and D (AST1-5) career
streams to access the career stream with no restriction with prospects
of promotion to grade AST11.
Simplified rules for implementing the attestation procedure were
adopted by the Commission in 2006.2
The 2010 attestation exercise is the fifth to be based on a procedure
involving only one stage: admission.
- To be admitted, candidates should in particular have
demonstrated their potential to take on the functions of
"Administrative assistant" level (ex-B).
- An official who has satisfied the admission criteria becomes "attestable",
without any time limit. He/she stays in their C or D career stream
whilst waiting to be "attested" (no automatic attestation).
- An "attestable" official only becomes "attested" once
he/she occupies an "Administrative assistant" post (ex-B), in other
words a post with a job description type "Assistant", "Technical
assistant" or "Team leader".
On 28th June 2010, after consulting the Joint Committee for the
attestation procedure, the Appointing Authority adopted detailed rules
for applying the admission criteria for the 2010 attestation exercise (Administrative
Notice 40-2010).
This Administrative Notice is a call for applications and
officially launches the 2010 attestation procedure. It explains what
attestation is and sets out the procedure and provisional timetable for
the 2010 exercise.
The deadline for submitting applications is 3rd September 2010
(evening).
NB
-
All those officials having already
been admitted to the attestation exercise since 2006 do not
have to apply again for attestation.3
The right to benefit from the attestation procedure which
they have already acquired is not subject to any time limit.
-
After finalisation of the current
attestation exercise and before 31 December 2010, it will be
decided whether to organise the attestation procedure in
whole or in part in 2011 and in subsequent years. This
decision will not change the right to benefit from the
attestation procedure which the officials have already
acquired from a former attestation exercise starting with
the 2006 exercise. In fact, the admitted officials remain "attestables"
without any time limit.
-
The attention of the candidates and of
the relevant reporting and countersigning officers is drawn
to the importance of the evaluation of the demonstration of
the potential to perform "Administrative assistant" (ex-B)
level tasks and functions. The admission of the candidates
and their access to the career path without restrictions
depends in particular on this evaluation. Evaluations
should be MOTIVATED and the requested declarations, comments
and evaluations should be CLEAR, PRECISE and COMPLETE.
-
To be valid, applications must be signed
by the applicant in Sysper2 by the deadline specified (see
point 5). In the event of omission or error, no changes to
the application can be accepted once it has been signed. DG
HR will systematically check the information given by the
applicants in their application form against the data in
their personal file (see point 8).
|
- GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1.1. Who is concerned by the attestation procedure?
Only officials in the C and D career paths who were in service in
the institutions before 1 May 2004 are concerned.
AST officials who were established after 30 April 2004 are not
concerned. These officials are automatically members of the function
group AST without career restrictions (with the possibility of
promotion up to AST11).
1.2. What is the aim of the attestation procedure?
Officials in the old B, C and D categories all became members of
the same Assistants (AST) function group on 1st May 2004, albeit
with distinct career streams: the ex-B grades have no career
restrictions, the ex-C grades have their careers restricted at AST7
and the ex-D grades are restricted at AST5.
The attestation procedure is a transitory measure which allows
officials in the restricted career streams to become full members of
the AST function group and as a result be able to compete for
promotion up to grade AST11 on the basis of their individual merit
and their personal situation in terms of seniority and grade.
1.3. What consequences for the career?
The transition from one career stream to the other is horizontal
(same grade and same step) and basic salary remains unchanged. The
seniority acquired in the former career stream is maintained. The
points accumulated in the "rucksack" ("sac à dos") are recalculated
in order to maintain the same relative distance from the threshold,
except for AST7 in the C career path and AST5 in the D career path.
For these two grades, no promotion is possible in the C and D career
paths. There is no promotion threshold: the points accumulated
before attestation are therefore cancelled.
1.4. The different stages of the procedure
The attestation procedure implemented since 2006 consists of the
following stages:
- publication of a call for applications;
- drawing up of a list of applicants admitted to the
attestation procedure (the "attestables") on the basis of the
admission criteria;
- attestation of admitted officials once they occupy posts at
"Administrative assistant" level (ex-B level – posts with a job
description type "Assistant", "Technical assistant" ("Assistant
technique") or "Team leader" ("Chef d'équipe")).
- ADMISSION CRITERIA
Once you have validated your application, DG HR will check that
it complies with the admission criteria laid down by the Commission
Decision of 29 November 2006 (Administrative
Notice 55-2007), supplemented by the decision of the Appointing
Authority of 28th June 2010 (Administrative
Notice 40-2010).
In order to be admitted you must meet all the following
criteria.
2.1. Administrative status
You may apply for attestation if:
- you were a serving official in the C or D career path before
1 May 2004;
- at the date of this call for applications you are appointed
to a permanent post at the Commission and are in active
employment, on parental leave, on family leave or seconded in
the interests of the service.
You may not apply if during 2010 you are to be retired or your
service is to be terminated by the Commission or if the Commission
has granted you an invalidity allowance taking effect in 2010.
2.2. Minimum seniority
You must have, as at 16 January 2010, at least 5 years'
seniority in C or D career path – or in a higher category. If
you have less than five years’ seniority, your application will not
be admitted.
For the purpose of applying this criterion, seniority acquired in
C or D career path – or in a higher category – as an official or
temporary staff member will be taken into account. Seniority as a
temporary staff member will be taken into account even if there has
been a break between the periods of work as a temporary staff member
and as an official.
Periods of work when seconded in the interests of the service or
seconded at your own request (in another European institution, in a
Community/ executive agency or in an organisation devoted to
furthering the Community's interests) will be taken into account.
Leave on personal grounds will not be taken into account.
Seniority as described above will be referred to hereinafter and
in your application as “type 1 professional experience”.
2.3. Minimum level of education
You must have a level of education at least equal to that
required by Article 5(3)(a)(i) of the Staff Regulations for
appointment to the function group AST , i.e. "a level of
post-secondary education attested by a diploma" (higher
non-university degree or short university cycle of a legal duration
of at least 2 years). This level corresponds to column d) in the
table of qualifications in
Annex 1.
However, if you do not have this level of education, you may
still be eligible for attestation on the basis of professional
experience acquired in the institutions (even with a status other
than official or temporary staff member) or outside the
institutions. Such additional professional experience used to count
towards level of education will be referred to hereinafter and in
your application as “type 2 professional experience”.
Education levels a) to c) can be supplemented as follows:
LEVEL OF EDUCATION Level of your highest
qualification
(see Annex 1) |
Minimum C/D seniority
("type 1 experience") |
Additional professional experience
("type 2 experience") |
a) Primary education |
5 years |
+ 9 years |
b) Secondary education (not giving
access to higher education) |
+ 5 years |
c) Secondary education (giving access to
higher education) |
+ 2 years |
d) Higher education (higher
non-university degree or short university cycle of a legal
duration of at least 2 years) |
0 |
e) University level education of a legal
duration of at least 3 years |
f) University level education of a legal
duration of at least 4 years |
g) University level education – third
stage |
Only studies certified by a title/diploma - recognised by the
Member State or third country in which it was issued – obtained by
the candidate will be taken into account.
Annex 1
contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of diplomas by
country and by level of education.
If you are unable to provide evidence of professional experience
to compensate for a level of education lower than level d), your
application will not be accepted.
2.4. Professional experience: demonstration of the potential
to perform "Administrative assistant" level functions and/or tasks
(ex-B)
The professional experience shall be taken into account through
the potential to perform higher level functions and/or tasks. For
those in career streams C or D this effectively means
"Administrative assistant" level, i.e. ex-B level (and not
ex-C).
The demonstration of your potential must be positively assessed,
which means that your superiors must acknowledge that in practice
you satisfactorily performed "Administrative assistant" (ex-B) level
functions and/or tasks during all or part of the period between 1
April 2007 and 31 March 2010.
The functions and tasks considered as being of "Administrative
assistant" level are listed in
Annex 3.
In order to evaluate if you have demonstrated your potential, your
hierarchy will take into account the functions and tasks that you
have taken on and declared in your application, the amount of time
you have spent on them, the quality of your performance, the level
of responsibility as well as your ability to act and react in an
autonomous manner. In particular, tasks and functions performed
without taking the initiative or by following instructions are not
considered as being of "Administrative assistant" level, unlike
those requiring, for example, a certain degree of independence,
pro-activeness, coordination, interpretation of instructions and
advice (see also points 4.3 and 6.1).
Up until the 2006 exercise, the demonstration of potential was
one of the headings in the career development report (CDR). This is
no longer the case. The demonstration of your potential is now
assessed by your superiors during the attestation exercise, if you
submit an application.
If the demonstration of your potential to perform functions
and/or tasks of a higher level is not favourably assessed, your
application will not be admitted.
2.5. Level of performance
You will not be admitted to the 2010 attestation exercise if your
professional performance was assessed as insufficient in your
evaluation report covering the year 2009.
Professional insufficiency is characterized by an evaluation at
performance level IV.
- HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be made using the "Attestation" module in
Sysper2. To access this module from the Sysper2 menu, click on the
link "My attestation and certification history" under "Attestation &
Certification". Then click "Apply for the 2010 attestation
exercise".
No link will be made between applications completed by the same
applicant during previous attestation exercises. Applicants must
therefore complete all the sections again.
The closing date for submitting applications is 3rd
September 2010 (evening). If, for some reason, you are unable to
access Sysper2 between the date on which this Administrative Notice
is published and the closing date for applications, you may send a
paper application (see specimen form in
Annex 2)
to the following address:
European Commission
Unit HR.B.4
"Application for the attestation procedure"
MO 34 5/26
B-1049 Brussels
Paper application forms must be sent at the latest on 3rd
September 2010, as evidenced by the postmark. Paper application
forms sent after that date will not be accepted, unless you can
provide proof that you were absent throughout the period between the
date of publication of this Administrative Notice and the closing
date for submitting applications.
- WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE?
Some information, such as your experience in the Commission as an
official or temporary agent, your administrative status and grade,
is already recorded in Sysper2. You must encode certain other
information in the application. This information relates to the
following:
4.1. Your level of education
You should indicate your highest qualification, with reference to
the table in Annex 1
to this call for applications, the title of the diploma, the date on
which you obtained it and the body that issued it.
Regardless of the level of education, only studies certified by
an academic diploma – recognised by the Member State or third
country in which it was issued – will be taken into account.
You must mention at least one diploma in the "Studies" section of
the application form. This information will be used to determine
whether you must have more than 5 years' seniority (see point 2.3).
4.2. Your professional experience other than that acquired as
an official or temporary staff member in the Commission
To enable us to calculate your total seniority and, if necessary,
to supplement your level of education, please indicate your type 1
and type 2 professional experience as follows. There is no need to
enter your experience as an official or temporary staff member in
the Commission because this information will automatically be
extracted from Sysper2 and taken into account.
4.2.1. Professional experience in another European
institution, in a Community/executive agency or in an
organisation devoted to furthering the Community's interests
("Type 1 professional experience")
You should indicate your professional experience in the C and
D or higher career streams as an official or temporary staff
member in the European institutions (other than the Commission),
the Community/executive agencies and the organisations devoted
to furthering the Community's interests. These periods will be
added to the seniority you have acquired within the Commission
(see point 2.2).
You should specify the periods of work, the institution to
which you were assigned, the directorate-general and unit, and
your status (temporary staff member or permanent official) and
grade.
4.2.2. Other professional experience (“Type 2
professional experience”)
You should indicate any experience outside the institutions,
as well as any experience within the institutions with a status
other than official or temporary staff member. You should
specify the periods of employment, the duties performed, and the
name and contact details of the employer.
This type of experience may count towards your level of
education (see point 2.3). Even if you do not have to supplement
your level of education we suggest you mention any professional
experience that could be taken into account.
4.3. Demonstration of your potential to perform
"Administrative assistant" (ex-B) level functions and/or tasks
You should mention in your application any occasions during all
or part of the reference period (between 1 April 2007 and 31 March
2010) when you consider that you demonstrated your potential to
perform "Administrative assistant" level functions and/or tasks, as
referred to in the list of tasks and functions performed by AST
officials with no career restrictions (see
Annex 3).
Each task or function performed should be entered separately in the
corresponding section of the application form ("Declare as
task/function of "Administrative assistant" level). At least one
declaration should be entered in this section.
For each entry you must specify the period (which must include at
least part of the reference period), the institution, DG/Service,
job title, function group and career path, administrative status,
function or task. You must also give a detailed description and one
or more contact persons.
Your reporting officer and countersigning officer – as defined on
the day you sign your application form – will then assess this
demonstration of your potential to work as an "Administrative
assistant" (ex-B) on the basis of the functions and tasks that you
have taken on and declared in your application, the amount of time
you have spent on them, the quality of your performance, the level
of responsibility as well as your ability to act and react in an
autonomous manner. In particular, tasks and functions performed
without taking the initiative or by following instructions are not
considered as being of "Administrative assistant" level, unlike
those requiring, for example, a certain degree of independence,
pro-activeness, coordination, interpretation of instructions and
advice.
Please note that it is not the number of functions and/or tasks
performed that will be taken into account, but the quality and
relevance of the professional experience and the information
provided.
Your relevant professional experience may have been gained within
the Commission, in another institution or agency or in an
organisation devoted to furthering the Community's interests. In the
case of experience outside the Commission you may attach supporting
documents. However, we recommend that you limit the number of
annexes to those that are strictly relevant and clearly indicate
their contents in the box marked "Title of the attachment".
It is important to make sure that your job description is updated
to reflect the tasks and functions which you perform, including
those of "Administrative assistant" level.
4.4. Annexes (not mandatory)
If you annex any document to support the demonstration of your
potential, the number of documents should be strictly limited. The
quality and relevance of the information you supply will be taken
into consideration when assessing the demonstration of your
potential. Be sure to indicate the contents of the annexes in the
box marked "Title of the attachment".
There is no need to annex all or part of the evaluation reports
produced by the Commission departments because these are available
to your superiors in Sysper2.
Ideally, documents should be annexed in PDF format. For your
information, you can obtain a PDF version of a document by e-mailing
it to the EC PDF CODE WEB functional mailbox.
- HOW TO SIGN YOUR APPLICATION
Up until the moment you sign your application in Sysper2, you
can:
- cancel it (click "Delete my application form"); or
- fill in the form in stages. You can enter and save data as
you go along.
You have access at all times to your completed application form,
containing the details you have entered as well as the information
from Sysper2. You can check the content and change it if necessary
before signing it.
Your application will not be registered and examined until you
have signed it electronically (click on "Sign and send my
application form"). The date on which you signed your application
will then appear in the "Summary" tab. The name of your reporting
officer and countersigning officer will also appear here. They will
be responsible for assessing whether you have demonstrated
potential.
- FOLLOWING STEP: DRAWING UP THE LIST OF APPLICANTS ADMITTED TO
THE ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
6.1. Appraisal of the demonstration of your potential to
perform functions and/or tasks of an "Administrative assistant"
(ex-B) by your reporting officer and countersigning officer
Once you have signed your application form, your reporting
officer and countersigning officer (the people holding these
positions on the day you sign your application) will be asked to
assess whether you have demonstrated the potential to perform tasks
and/or functions at "Administrative assistant" level. A favourable
assessment on their part is one of the conditions for admission to
the attestation procedure (see point 2.4).
Their assessment will be based on the "Administrative assistant"
(ex-B) level functions and/or tasks you have declared in your
application form, on the amount of working time devoted to them, on
the quality of the services provided, on the evaluation reports, on
possible remarks contained in former application forms, on the level
of responsibility and on your ability to act and react
independently. It is not the number of functions and/or tasks
performed that will be taken into account, but the quality and
relevance of the professional experience and the information
provided.
First, your reporting officer will be asked to comment
in a clear, precise and complete way on the information you have
given in your application form. Then your countersigning
officer will be asked to assess whether or not you have
demonstrated your potential during the reference period, on the
basis of the information available. Your countersigning officer must
provide a clear and precise MOTIVATION, especially in case
his/her evaluation is unfavourable.
Your reporting officer, your countersigning officer and the head
of human resources in your DG will be given access to only two
sections of your 2010 application form: the one relating to the
demonstration of your potential and the one containing any annexes.
Access will only be granted as from the beginning of the
consultation period of reporting officers and countersigning
officers (see the calendar in point 10).
You will be able to access your reporting officer's comments and
the countersigning officer's assessment in your Attestation
application file in Sysper2 as soon as the draft list of applicants
admitted to the attestation exercise has been published.
6.2. Publication of the draft list of applicants admitted to
the attestation procedure
On the basis of the information in the applications, a draft
list of applicants who fulfil the criteria for admission will be
drawn up by DG HR. This list will be submitted to the Joint
Committee for an opinion and then published by the Appointing
Authority as an Administrative Notice.
Once this has been published you will be able to look in your
Attestation file in Sysper2 and see how the information in your
application form has been evaluated, how your superiors have
assessed the demonstration of your potential and, where appropriate,
the reason for rejecting your application. Based on the admission
criteria (see points 2.1 to 2.5), the reasons might be: insufficient
seniority, inadequate level of education, unfavourable assessment of
the demonstration of potential, insufficient performance.
6.3. Appeal possibility
If you wish to challenge the non-admission of your application,
you can lodge a reasoned appeal with the Joint Committee.
This will have to be done in Sysper2 within ten working days
of publication of the draft list of admitted applicants.
Instructions on how to appeal will be communicated to staff when the
draft list of admitted candidates is published.
Once the Joint Committee has examined the appeals, the Appointing
Authority will decide whether or not to accept your appeal.
6.4. Publication of the final list of applicants admitted to
the attestation procedure (the "attestables")
Once all the appeals have been heard, the Appointing Authority
will adopt and publish the final list of officials admitted to the
2010 attestation procedure.
- LAST STEP: ATTESTATION OF APPLICANTS ADMITTED TO THE
ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
7.1. Validity of the list
The officials whose names are included on the final list of
applicants admitted to the 2010 attestation procedure will be
eligible for attestation, without any time limitation,
subject to verification of the information provided in their
applications (see point 8). There is no maximum number of
attestations per year, per DG or per attestation exercise.
7.2. How to be attested
Attestation implies that all the functions performed by the
attested official correspond to "Administrative assistant" (ex-B)
level. In order to be attested, officials whose names are included
on the final list of applications admitted to the 2010 attestation
procedure must be appointed to a post at "Administrative
assistant" level (with a job description type "Assistant",
"Technical assistant"/"Assistant technique" or "Team leader"/"Chef
d'équipe").
To this end these officials will be authorised to apply for all
"Administrative assistant" posts published by Commission services.
If the description of the post occupied by one of these officials
has already been recognised as being of "Administrative assistant"
level, or if it has been modified so that it comprises only
functions of that level and is recognised as such, mobility will not
be necessary and the official can be attested on that post.
7.3. Training recommended for officials admitted to the
attestation procedure
In order to consolidate the skills they require to perform tasks
at "Administrative assistant" level, officials admitted to the
attestation procedure will be encouraged to take training courses to
enable them to acquire or supplement the skills necessary for
performing such tasks, taking account of their specific training
needs and the requirements of the service to which they are
assigned. Participation in these training courses is not a
prerequisite for attestation.
The list of recommended training will be indicated at the time of
publication of the final list of applicants admitted to the 2010
attestation procedure.
- VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION IN YOUR APPLICATION FORM
DG HR will systematically check the information provided
by an admitted applicant in his/her application against his/her
personal file. This check will be made after publication of the
final list of admitted applicants and at the latest when a request
for his/her attestation is received and processed. The sole purpose
of this check is to ensure that the information given by the
applicant is consistent with the data in his/her personal file.
Under no circumstances will it be possible to add any information or
professional experience that the applicant has omitted to mention.
If the information is not correct, or if the personal file is
incomplete, the qualification or experience indicated in the
application will not be taken into account and attestation will not
be granted.
You should therefore carefully check the information entered
before validating your application and complete your personal file
if necessary. The file should, for example, contain:
- the original or a certified copy of the
qualification(s)/title(s)/diploma(s) you declare in your
attestation application form; they must be officially recognised
by the public authorities in the Member State or third country
in which issued;
- the original or a certified copy of statements from
employers attesting the professional experience outside the
European institutions you mention in your attestation
application form.
Personal files are managed by HR.B.1 (SC-11 3/63, Tel. 52151).
- THE ROLE OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE IN MONITORING THE PROCEDURE
The new attestation procedure reinforces the role of the Joint
Committee:
- the committee will be consulted on the draft list of
officials whose applications are considered to have been
admitted and on the appeals lodged by applicants who have not
been admitted;
- the committee will be regularly informed on implementation
of the procedure, the number of attestations, the profiles of
the attested officials and monitoring of the training module;
- each year, the committee will adopt an opinion on the
implementation of the attestation procedure, together with any
recommendations it may wish to make to the Appointing Authority.
- TIMETABLE FOR THE 2010 ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
The provisional timetable is as follows:
- 3rd September 2010: closing date for applications;
- Second half of September 2010: consultation of reporting
officers and countersigning officers to assess the demonstration
of the applicants' potential to perform these "Administrative
assistant" level functions and/or tasks;
- October 2010: publication of the draft list of officials
admitted to the attestation procedure following its submission
to the Joint Committee for an opinion;
- October/November 2010: meeting of the Joint Committee to
analyse appeals by applicants not admitted;
- November/December 2010: publication of the final list of
officials admitted to the 2010 attestation procedure.
- PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
Information on the processing of personal data under Regulation
(EC) No 45/20014:
- Identity of the controller: Unit HR.B.4.
- Purpose of processing: attestation procedure.
- Recipients: Unit HR.B.4, Appointing Authority, members of
the Joint Committee, human resources managers; reporting
officers and countersigning officers (for the section on
demonstration of potential and annexes only).
- Questions in the application form marked with an asterisk
(*) are compulsory.
- Right to access and rectify data: once an application has
been made, the applicant has access to all the information
contained in it. Data can be rectified before the closing date
for the validation of applications, but not after the
application has been validated by the applicant.
- Other information contained in the notification to the DPO
covering Sysper2 – CDR professional appraisal.
- Applicants are entitled to have recourse at any time to the
European Data Protection Supervisor.
- CONTACT DETAILS
If you have any queries or difficulties in completing your
application form, you can contact unit HR.B.4:
Tel.: 93640 & 93936 E-mail: HR PROCEDURE D'ATTESTATION "Attestation" site on My IntraComm:
http://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/hr_admin/en/attestation/Pages/index.aspx
Annexes: |
1/
Non-exhaustive table of EU27 qualifications by level of
education
(de
en
fr)
2/ Application form in Word
(en
fr)
3/ Reference list of tasks and functions considered as being
of "Administrative assistant" level
(de
en
fr) |
_________
Footnotes
(1) This procedure was introduced
by Article 10(3) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations.
(2) Commission Decision on the
implementation of the attestation procedure, C(2006)5788 of 29 November
2006 – published in Administrative
Notice 55-2007.
(3) See final lists of admitted
candidates published in the following Administrative Notices:
30-2007 (1450 officials admitted
to the 2006 exercise), 17-2008
(532 officials admitted to the 2007 exercise),
19-2009 (388 officials admitted to
the 2008 exercise) and 74-2009
(308 officials admitted to the 2009 exercise).
(4) Règlement (CE) n° 45/2001 du
Parlement européen et du Conseil du 18 décembre 2000 relatif à la
protection des personnes physiques à l'égard du traitement des données à
caractère personnel par les institutions et organes communautaires et à
la libre circulation de ces données (JO L 8 du 12.1.2001, p. 1–22). |