ETHICS, A NEW IT APPLICATION FOR MANAGING STAFF RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS ARISING FROM TITLE II OF THE STAFF REGULATIONS

From 1 September 2010, rights and obligations arising from Title II of the Staff Regulations will be managed using a new IT application called ETHICS which will allow applications to be transmitted electronically between those involved in the decision-making process.

Its use will initially be limited to outside activities (Article 12b and Commission Decision on outside activities and assignments C(2004)1597 of 28 April 2004). Later, it will also include work done while on leave on personal grounds (CCP), work done after leaving the Commission (on retirement or at end of contract), decorations and gifts, activities of spouses, publications and speeches, participation in election campaigns, standing for public office and appearing in court as a witness.

ETHICS will affect all statutory staff, staff covered by the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants and seconded national experts. As from 1 September 2010, you can no longer use paper forms to request authorisation for an outside activity. However, paper forms will be available at your DG's Human Resources Unit in the event of any technical difficulties.

Data processing and keeping data

Your personal details will automatically be supplied by Sysper2. It is up to you to fill in all the other information relating to your request in ETHICS. When requesting authorisation for an outside activity, this includes:

• contact details of the organisation for which you will be working;
• nature and description of the work you will do;
• your timetable: number of hours worked during or outside of working hours;
• financial or contractual relationship with the Commission;
• how the external activity relates to your duties at the Commission;
• the type of leave taken to cover your absence: annual leave, special leave or flexitime;
• financial arrangements, etc.

The information you provide, any further details requested, for instance about the nature of your outside activity and the opinion of your hierarchical superiors will be considered by DG Human Resources and Security or your DG's Human Resources Unit. The decision whether to grant authorisation and under what restrictions, if any, will then be taken by the Appointing Authority.

You will be notified of this decision and it will be included in your electronic personal file. It will be kept for the same length of time as other documents contained in officials' personal files.

Any supporting documents containing personal data needed to manage your application (such as proof of income received) will be placed in files (on paper) or stored on a network disk, and must be kept for five years by DG HR or your DG's Human Resources Unit. This information must be protected against unauthorised access.

There are instructions to guide you through the sequence (workflow) of approvals and opinions by management, right through to the final decision by the Appointing Authority. For the data protection reasons mentioned above, supporting documents do not follow this electronic workflow.

The data stored in ETHICS may also be used for statistical purposes.

Protection of personal data

ETHICS allows us to process your application in Sysper2 in conformity with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001⁽¹⁾ (see confidentiality statement at:
http://intracomm.cec.eu-admin.net/sysper2/home/declaration_specifique_confidentialite_en.htm).

Further information

You will find more details about outside activities in the 'Ethics and staff conduct' section of the HR & Administration pages on My IntraComm:
http://myintracomm.ec.europa.eu/hr_admin/en/ethics/obligations/conflicts_interest/Pages/external_activities.aspx.

Further information about ETHICS will appear on My IntraComm when the application is launched.

From 1 September 2010, you will find the ETHICS application in Sysper2: http://www.cc.cec/SYSPER2/login.jsp

If you have any queries about your rights and obligations under Title II of the Staff Regulations, please contact your DG's Human Resources unit.

If you need technical assistance, please send an e-mail to:DIGIT-SYSPER2@ec.europa.eu
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Footnotes

⁽¹⁾ Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data, OJ L 8, 12.1.2001.