Rue Montoyer, home of DG HR in Brussels, is not precisely known as the hotbed of innovative HR policies (unless of course one has to find ways to lift people with no management responsibilities or other noticeable qualifications to AD13 and 14). But occasionally, very occasionally, even there an idea sees the light of day which makes you think “Ehre wem Ehre gebuehrt” [Honour where honour is due].

We are talking about one of the changes introduced in the new mission guidelines under the heading “Authorised Travel”. Authorised travel is a kind of lightweight business travel (‘mission’) which allows you to take part in events related to a programme covered by an ad hoc Commission decision or other external events and have your cost in part be covered by the Commission (and possibly the organisers of the event). How big that part is (and how much you would have to pay yourself) is at the end of the day something your boss needs to decide, taking into account how important your participation in the event is for the Commission and your negotiation skills. Continue reading “Authorised travel”: how a good idea got thwarted before it could even be tried in practice →