CBT training offer

EPSO, Newsletter - 2021-03-26, Professional mobility, Training Print This Post

Generation 2004 is organising computer-based multiple-choice test (CBT) training 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 final objective 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 →

Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates

Childcare, COVID-19, Leave, Newsletter - 2021-03-26, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 11.10.2022 Covid booster II campaign is starting soon (again medical service in Brussels and national authorities elsewhere) and flu vaccine is already available on some sites* Commissioner Hahn said in his video message (16.3.2021) that ‘we are all impatient to be free again’. At this stage, please allow me to modify his message and stress that ‘we are all impatient to be finally vaccinated’ (at least most of us). After 1 year of teleworking at home we are all fed up with this situation and cannot wait to resume a normal life. While entering the third wave, we are facing yet another lockdown. As most countries begin to tighten the restrictions, the vision of going to visit our loved ones over the Easter period seems to be vanishing. The pressure is high, our workload has increased, some of us at the brink of burnout, digital overload is a hard reality and some of us are worried about our family members in other Member States, which are currently fighting for their lives. Continue reading Latest on COVID: vaccines a little behind initial estimates →

How do those outside the Union get reimbursed for PCR tests?

COVID-19, Health, Outside the Union Print This Post

Generation 2004 is aware that sometimes colleagues are unsure which polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are eligible for reimbursement and which ones are not; especially with the upcoming Easter holiday.

Those covered by the Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS): you can refer to the specific guidelines for detail for all cases, but, in short, PCR tests done by national authorities and approved laboratories can be reimbursed by the JSIS. Continue reading How do those outside the Union get reimbursed for PCR tests? →

Remote-working precedent: a workaround or a can of worms?

CHAFEA, Cost of living Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Newsletter - 2021-03-26, Outside the Union, Teleworking, Working conditions Print This Post

In January a call for expression of interest presented the possibility to work in a DG Health and Food Safety (SANTE [1]) unit in Luxembourg from any Commission site ‘for about six months’. As stated in the email, the initial Luxembourg-wide call had been unsuccessful, so this was a ‘plan B’ of sorts in these difficult times, a workaround.

Unfortunately, this quick fix opens a can of worms (there are so many issues here we almost didn’t know where to begin, hence the delay in writing this article. If you spot any additional issues, please feel free to get in touch and we’ll add them to this list!) Continue reading Remote-working precedent: a workaround or a can of worms? →

Teleworking from abroad before the Easter break

COVID-19, Health, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, Teleworking Print This Post

You asked, we listened! Many of you have contacted us recently to enquire about the possibility to telework from abroad before the Easter break [1], as was the case in summer 2020 and before Christmas (setting a precedent).

We at Generation 2004 reacted promptly to your requests by asking DG HR to allow this flexibility again. It was our previous requests on your behalf that resulted in the possibility to telework from abroad for 2 weeks in the summer and before the Christmas break: these requests were accepted and led to a well-deserved and very-much-appreciated flexibility for staff, after months of isolation and restrictions due to the measures taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading Teleworking from abroad before the Easter break →

Latest news on COVID vaccination, teleworking and the right to disconnect

COVID-19, Health, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, PMO, Social Dialogue, Teleworking Print This Post

At Generation 2004 we continue to closely follow the development of all matters related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to voice your concerns and requests to the administration.

Here you find the most up-to-date information provided during the last meeting with DG HR devoted to COVID-19 (the 20th on the issue so far!) held 12 February 2021, complemented with that provided in communication update 30. Continue reading Latest news on COVID vaccination, teleworking and the right to disconnect →

Certification: you asked, we answer!

Assistants, Certification, Newsletter - 2021-03-04 Print This Post

*20.10.2022–14.12.2022: Evaluation and pre-selection of eligible applications by the DGs/Services for 2022/23 exercise*

You asked us (conference, 28.1.2021) how many assistants (ASTs) successfully complete the certification process (no mean feat!) but do not find an administrator (AD) post. This information is not so readily available but we’re good at digging and we asked HR to fill in some blanks and clear up discrepancies.

We count 1097 successful officials (the certifiés/those ’certified’ as apt [1]) in total from all 15 certification procedures to date (2005-2019 [2]) using HR reports for 2015 and 2019, together with administrative notices. HR confirms this count but provides figures which differ slightly from those published (see updated tables below [3]). Continue reading Certification: you asked, we answer! →

Digital overload and the right to disconnect: the Commission must act now!

COVID-19, Health, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, Teleworking Print This Post

As Commission staff, we are now approaching one full year of compulsory teleworking, with no clear prospects as to when we will be able to go back to the office. Many of you contacted us at Generation 2004 to share your concerns regarding what this ‘new way of working’ means in practice: sitting more hours in front of the computer, being forever reachable, reading emails at midnight Continue reading Digital overload and the right to disconnect: the Commission must act now! →

The ONE: the latest casualty of the hot-desking policy of the Commission

Health, Newsletter - 2021-03-04, Open Plan Office, return to the office-new normal, Social Dialogue, Working conditions Print This Post
A silent revolution, without the involvement of staff and staff representatives.

One year ago, on Friday 13 March 2020, we were all told to go home and start teleworking. No one would have imagined at the time that by now the vast majority of staff would still be doing compulsory 100% telework.

However, while we are sitting at home doing our best to continue delivering on our objectives in spite of all the difficulties created by the pandemic, in our empty buildings things are moving fast. A silent revolution, already well under way, pre-Corona, continues full steam ahead: from DG BUDG, to DG TRADE, to the new Publications Office (OP) (POST-Mercier), to the Jean Monnet 2 (JMO2) and now rue de la Loi. Continue reading The ONE: the latest casualty of the hot-desking policy of the Commission →