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Staff matters
LEGAL NEWSLETTER OF UNION SYNDICALE
Staff Matters is a newsletter to keep you regularly informed about latest developments in EU case law on staff matters and other useful legal news relevant for staff
Staff Matters N° 29
Newsletter
This newsletter presents a recent case on two subjects of high practical relevance: (1) the lack of competence of an author to decide on an act adversely affecting staff and (2) the recovery of sums unduly paid to an official.
Read moreStaff Matters N° 28
Newsletter
This newsletter is about the important subject of invalidity, at the example of a recent judgment of the Court of Justice which confirms that the term invalidity in the context of the entitlement of staff to an invalidity allowance can only be interpreted as an incapacity to fulfil the duties within the own institution.
Read moreStaff Matters N° 27
Newsletter
In this newsletter, we present a recent judgment of the General Court on the review of an appraisal report. An action against such a report (once final) can be filed directly, without going through the complaint procedure and without being obliged to lodge an appeal.
Read moreStaff Matters N° 26
Newsletter
An important judgment of the Court of Justice (ECJ) on the pension rights of contract staff and on effective judicial protection. The benefits of the transitional regime for staff other than officials who had already contracts before 2004 or 2014 also apply to the many colleagues who cannot show to have worked in “functional continuity” (due to various functions on the basis of various contracts).
Read moreStaff Matters n°25
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The principle of impartiality is one of the central obligations of EU civil servants and at the same time a right enjoyed by every civil servant. The institutions have to comply with both manifestations of the principle: subjective and objective impartiality.
Read moreStaff Matters n°24
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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on the term “unauthorised absence” of an official in the sense of Art. 60 SR. As the Court decided, “absence” means physical absence. The provisions for disciplinary measures shall not be bypassed by applying the “unauthorised absence” concept in a too broad sense.
Read moreStaff Matters n°23
Newsletter
The General Court annulled the Commission’s disciplinary sanction to terminate a contract without notice. As a matter of unity of the personal file, a disciplinary measure must not take into account those elements of the personal file that have been removed from it.
Read moreStaff Matters n°22
Newsletter
The Court annulled the Commission’s decision to terminate a contract of indefinite duration. The annual appraisal reports, upon which the Commission had also based its decision, did not contain a specific reference to an unjustified absence of the applicant.
Read moreStaff Matters n°21
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A case decided by the General Court in which it annulled the decision not to promote an official. The promotion procedure was vitiated because it took into account also earlier reports relating to the probation period of the applicant, instead of being solely based on appraisal reports.
Read moreStaff Matters n°20
Newsletter
This newsletter treats a very recent interim measure handed down by the General Court in which it ordered that the EIT (in Budapest) has to allow the applicant to do telework from her place of origin in Germany, until the time of lifting of the restrictions linked to the health crisis imposed by the authorities in Germany and Hungary.
Read moreStaff Matters n°19
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This newsletter treats a case decided by the General Court relating to the recognition of the occupational nature of a disease. The medical opinion issued by the Medical Committee was judged irregular, because the Committee was not able to examine all the available documents.
Read moreStaff Matters n°18
Newsletter
In this newsletter, we report on a recent decision of the General Court on reimbursement of medical expenses. For the rental of a medical device, the appointing authority – in the absence of an explicit reimbursement ceiling in the applicable rules – chose to apply the same ceiling that is prescribed for the purchase of that device.
Read moreStaff Matters n°17
Newsletter
A recent decision of the Court of Justice confirmed that equality between men and women must be taken into account as one factor when deciding about the extension of a posting in a managerial position.
Read moreStaff Matters n°16
Newsletter
A recent decision of Court of Justice confirming and redefining the right of a candidate in an open competition to obtain a statement of reasons (i.e. a motivation) for the decision not to admit him to the list of successful candidates.
Read moreStaff Matters n°15
Newsletter
We report in this newsletter about a recent decision of the General Court confirming the staff’s right to strike. The Court ruled that during an action of strike the European Parliament (EP) had no legal basis to requisition interpreters and conference interpreters.
Read moreStaff Matters n°14
Newsletter
This newsletter deals with the entitlement of the surviving spouse of an official to receive a pension after the death of the official. Such a survivor’s pension was denied in a case recently decided upon by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Read moreStaff Matters n°13
Newsletter
This newsletter focuses on the calculation of transferred pension rights from the national pension scheme to the European Union pension scheme.
Read moreStaff Matters n°12
Newsletter
This newsletter deals with a recent decision of the General Court on the question whether the law allows a superior to be an impartial appeal body for review of the appraisal report of a staff member, in case the same superior had played an important role in setting up the respective appraisal report before, as a reporting officer.
Read moreStaff Matters n°11
Newsletter
This newsletter deals with the Commission’s power of initiative in relation to the rights of civil servants and employees of central government administrations of Member States to be consulted and informed.
Read moreStaff Matters n°10
Newsletter
This newsletter treats a recent case on contract termination during sick leave. The General Court annulled the dismissal decision of the European Environment Agency and awarded certain allowances to the applicant as well as compensation of 6,000 Euro for non-material damage suffered.
Read moreStaff Matters n°9
Newsletter
This newsletter is dedicated to the subject of discrimination based on language. It presents two recent judgments of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice. Differences of treatment based on language are, in principle, not allowed in the procedures for selecting staff for the EU institutions.
Read moreStaff Matters n°8
Newsletter
In this issue, we will be looking at actions brought following the reform of the Staff Regulations which entered into force in 2014. Five years after the reform entered into force, many actions have not yet been definitively settled.
Read moreStaff Matters n°7
Newsletter
This newsletter on a decision of the General Court of 8 May 2019 treats a question with considerable practical significance for all staff approaching or having reached their retirement age. The Court decided that it is not allowed to place an official on leave in the interests of the service if the person has already reached his/her pensionable age.
Read moreStaff Matters n°6
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This issue of Staff Matters focuses on the diploma requirements for participating in EPSO competitions. Recognition of qualifications, notice of EPSO competition, diploma, open competition, full legal education, how to find your way around?
Read moreStaff Matters n°5
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This issue deals with a recent decision of the Court on pension rights, particularly on the question of whether there is a continuity of service for the EU and – related to this – whether previous, more beneficial, provisions on pension apply, although the official during most of her career has not worked in the Commission, but within EU agencies.
Read moreStaff Matters n°4
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This issue will focus on the invalidity allowance. The applicant in case RI / Council, having worked for several years as a translator for the Council, suffered from health problems at her left hand. The procedure to acknowledge her illness as an occupational disease was successful, while the Council refused to acknowledge it.
Read moreStaff Matters n°3
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We will examine some cases where taking a decision or communicating it, took excessive time and the damages awarded by the Court.
Read moreStaff Matters n°2
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We will focus on the assistance that is – or should be – given by institutions to victims of harassment. A Member of Parliament (MEP) requested the employing authority to terminate her assistant’s (the applicant of the case) contract by stating that the assistant, without permission, had not come to work for one week.
Read moreStaff Matters n°1
Newsletter
The first edition will focus on the right to be heard. The rights of the defence constitute a fundamental principle of EU law. The person concerne must be given the opportunity, before the drawing up of a decision adversely affecting him.
Read moreAdvices &
Trainings
We are committed to providing the best service to our members, including free legal advice from our lawyers on all matters relating to your professional or private life, consultations with our tax expert and free webinars/training courses for EPSO competitions.
Union Syndicale invites you to a series of informative workshops on wellbeing, where we will explore the different facets of what wellbeing is, and how important it is to our mental and physical health.
Read moreOur Webinars are reserved for Union Syndicale members, members of their families who cannot join Union Syndicale, and those who join on this occasion.
Read moreFor those who have passed the pre-selection tests such as verbal, numerical, abstract reasoning…, this course (English only) prepares for the second part of the EPSO competition (oral, written).
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Actions
The whole history of Union Syndicale is based on solidarity. Solidarity between colleagues, to help each other. But also, to make ourselves heard together, in the face of the employer, in the face of abuses of power, in the face of everything that jeopardises the European Union’s public service.