CBT training offer: starting 7 June 2021

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*New dates available from 5 July*

Generation 2004 is organising more computer-based multiple-choice test (CBT) training starting Monday 7 June (4 x 2 hour sessions) to provide you with techniques to pass the contract agents selection tool (CAST) or the CBT phase of any European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) competition.

The next CBT for a competition  is scheduled for Agriculture AD6 in June (no dates yet) and the next competition announced (open 20 May  for applications) and CAST exams are scheduled for the 2-8 June and 30 June-6 July (and probably September). It is also likely EPSO will launch more competitions in autumn.

The final objective of this training is to guarantee that candidates master the CBT methodology. The training sessions will go through the theory of the exercises and share a practical methodology and exercises for practice at home, with the possibility of addressing doubts in the following session. Continue reading CBT training offer: starting 7 June 2021 →

‘Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest: winners!

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Thanks to all of you who submitted photos of your home-office/kitchen-table/cupboard-under-the-stairs/garden IT setup and your increased bills and accommodation costs. We always appreciate your interaction and comments and you can still send us your teleworking photos and evidence of costs incurred: let us know where and how you are working! Continue reading ‘Wild West of Teleworking’ Photography Contest: winners! →

Get ready: the return to the office is starting in June

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At last, on Wednesday evening (19.05.2021) HR announced a date for the start of operation ‘return to the office’: from Wednesday 9 June onwards the Commission anticipates moving from phase 0 to phase 1. In practice, this means that while teleworking will remain the norm, staff will be encouraged to go to the office, still on a voluntary basis. The maximum presence in the buildings – to be complied with at all time – will be raised to 20%. The canteen in the Berlaymont building will be reopened. Continue reading Get ready: the return to the office is starting in June →

Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon!

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*update 22.02.2022: we’re hearing that colleagues are changing DG in order to avoid open space/hot-desking. Is this you? Get in touch, we’d like to hear from you!*

In the COVID information meeting of 30 April 2021, the Director of Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB), Mr Marc Becquet, accused trade unions and staff associations (OSPs) of spreading fear and discontent among staff by sending too many messages and tracts on hot-desking and workplace arrangements. Continue reading Hot-desking: do not mistake the finger for the Moon! →

The future: no more lunch in Commission buildings

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If you were fantasising about returning to the office one day and resuming the usual lunch with colleagues [1], think again!

The new L107 (the ONE, Brussels), apparently the role model for all Commission buildings in the very near future – will not have a canteen, even though it will house more than 1500 staff – indeed, such a large number of people would fully justify the presence of a canteen. So, it seems that with the ‘new normal’, everybody who wants to eat in this showpiece Commission building will be treated to the following choice: either try to run faster than the others to get a spot at the – very small! – cafeteria in the building or lose a lot of precious time to go to possibly overcrowded canteens in other buildings. Continue reading The future: no more lunch in Commission buildings →

Reimbursement of the annual medical check-up during COVID

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*One colleague was successful with a related Article 90 complaint*

Under Article 59(6) of the staff regulations, staff are obliged to undergo a medical check-up every year either via the institution’s medical officer or by a medical practitioner chosen by them. Continue reading Reimbursement of the annual medical check-up during COVID →

How to decode and successfully communicate with your co-workers?

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DiSC is a behaviour-assessment tool based on the theory of psychologist William Moulton Marston. It focuses on four different behavioural traits, which could be summarised as decisiveness, interaction, stability and conciseness. Each of these traits refers to a pillar of someone’s personality. The more you have of a particular trait, the more you are likely to appear a certain way. Continue reading How to decode and successfully communicate with your co-workers? →

Local agent employment-conditions reform

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Here are updates and the review process of the salary-revision decision. Subsequent to the conclusion of the social dialogue for the local agent (LA) employment conditions, which should replace the Framework Rules, all LA colleagues will have until 30 June 2021 to decide whether to sign the package of conditions. If you have any questions or need any assistance, you can contact Generation 2004. Continue reading Local agent employment-conditions reform →

Corporate credit cards: what changed?

Newsletter - 2021-05-21, PMO Print This Post

The recently changed conditions for having and using corporate credit cards confused many of us. We asked the Office for the Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements (PMO) for clarification and additional information and below is a summary of what has changed and why. Continue reading Corporate credit cards: what changed? →