Article 1 - Scope
Article 2 - Definitions
Article 3 - Principles
Article 4 - Promotions procedure timetable
Article 5 - Definition of merit
Article 6 - Assessment of merit
Article 7 - Allocation of merit points to functional entities
Article 8 - Notification of the allocation of merit points
Article 9 - Career progression
Article 10 - Refusal of promotion
Article 11 - Suspension of promotion
Article 12 - Appeal against decisions on merit points and/or decisions to deny promotion
Article 13 - Transitional measures
Article 14 - Final provisions
THE SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT,
having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Union (hereinafter 'the Staff Regulations') and to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European
Union (hereinafter 'the CEOS'), and in particular Article 45 of the Staff Regulations and Article 87 (3) of the CEOS,
having regard to the Bureau Decision of 9 December 2013 delegating to the SecretaryGeneral the powers necessary for the adoption of internal rules, rules of application and implementing measures necessitated by the revision of the Staff Regulations and the CEOS,
having consulted the Legal Service, the Data Protection Officer, the Staff Committee and the Committee on Equality of Opportunity between Men and Women and Diversity,
Whereas:
(1) it is incumbent on Parliament to establish a promotions and career progression policy for officials and contract staff recruited in accordance with Article 3a of the CEOS who work in its Secretariat, which makes for smooth career development involving regular promotion for all deserving officials and other staff, while ensuring equal treatment;
(2) such a policy must ensure, too, that more rapid career development is possible for exceptionally deserving members of staff, without penalising others who are also deserving;
(3) such a policy must be based on the concept of merit, which determines the pace of advancement, and must be implemented through a career progression plan as part of the budgetary planning process on which the promotions system is based;
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
This decision applies to officials and to contract staff members recruited in accordance with Article 3a of the CEOS who work in Parliament's Secretariat.
For the purposes of this decision:
- 'staff member(s)' means staff in the categories referred to in Article 1;
- 'functional entity' means a directorate-general or an independent administrative unit which is not a directorate-general;
- 'in employment' means staff members in active employment (including those on parental leave or family leave, on leave to complete military or national service or on secondment in the interests of the service);
- 'eligible for promotion' means staff members who meet the conditions laid down in Article 45 of the Staff Regulations, as set out in the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) below;
- 'promotion' means the promotion of an official to the next higher grade, in accordance with Article 45 of the Staff Regulations, and the reclassification of a contract staff member in the next higher grade, in accordance with Article 87 (3) of the CEOS;
'appointing authority' means both the appointing authority and the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment.
1. Career progression for the staff members referred to in Article 1 shall be based on the concept of merit as defined in Article 5 and shall take place in accordance with the career progression plan described in Article 9.
2. A promotions procedure shall be organised every year in accordance with the timetable provided for in Article 4.
The only staff members eligible to be considered in any given promotions procedure shall be those who are in the employment of Parliament on 1 January of the year in which that procedure takes place, with at least two years seniority in grade, and those who have returned from a period of leave on personal grounds, secondment on request, long-term sick leave or leave in the interests of the service and who met the conditions laid down in Article 45 of the Staff Regulations before their active employment was interrupted.
1. The promotions procedure shall be conducted each year in September and October and must, without fail, be completed by 31 October of that year.
The Secretary-General shall be responsible for setting out the detailed promotions procedure timetable in Internal Rules on the award of merit points and promotions which he will adopt for the implementation of this decision.
1. Merit is a dynamic rather than a static concept which takes account of consistent efforts over time. It covers the way in which staff members carry out the tasks entrusted to them in line with the job description in their staff report, their level of performance, their conduct within the meaning of the relevant articles of Title II of the Staff Regulations, successful moves between departments, the level of responsibility they have exercised, completion of a complex project or study, active involvement in special work in Parliament's interests, work experience in a specific area, ability to take on additional responsibilities and use of languages other than those for which they have produced evidence of knowledge in accordance with Article 28 (f) of the Staff Regulations.
2. The pace of a staff member's career progression shall be determined by his or her merit.
Parliament shall ensure that all deserving staff members are promoted regularly, while taking care that the principle of equal treatment is observed. Promotion shall take place in accordance with a career progression plan as part of the budgetary planning process on which the promotions system is based.
1. Merit shall be assessed each year and the number of merit points that staff members receive in a given year must properly reflect their merit during that year as noted in the staff report, which is the basic assessment tool.
All staff members in the categories set out in paragraph 2 shall be awarded merit points on a scale from 0 to 3, staff members whose performance has been deemed unsatisfactory being awarded 0 points.
2. Merit points shall be awarded to:
- all officials in the following function groups and grades:
. function group AD, grades AD5 to AD11 inclusive and also grades AD12 and
AD13 provided that the officials concerned are in 'head of unit or equivalent' or 'advisor or equivalent' posts;
. function group AST, grades AST1 to AST8 inclusive and also grade AST10 provided that the officials concerned are in 'senior assistant' or 'assistant in transition' posts;
. function group AST/SC, grades SC1 to SC5 inclusive;
- all contract staff members referred to in Articles 3a (1) and 87 of the CEOS, with the exception of those in grade 3.
1. The head of each functional entity shall receive every year:
- a total number of points 2.1 (This multiplication factor is based on an indicative population profile of 20% with three points, 70% with two points and 10% with one point) times the number of staff members in the functional entity who, irrespective of their eligibility for promotion, had at least three months' seniority in grade in an EU institution or body during the year prior to that in which the promotions procedure takes place, the total being rounded up by default where appropriate; plus
- 1 point for each staff member in the functional entity who, irrespective of their eligibility for promotion, has less than three months' seniority in grade in an EU institution or body.
2. The heads of each functional entity shall allocate the merit points in a manner consistent with the assessments resulting from the staff reports procedure, taking due account of the assessors' opinions.
3. The Secretary-General shall have a reserve of merit points. It may be used for awarding an additional point:
- to officials seconded to, or placed at the disposal of, other bodies, whose work cannot easily be compared with that of other officials;
- to staff members who are chairs, members or substitute members of the Staff Committee, advisory committees or competition selection boards;
- where the heads of functional entities have made a reasoned case for the allocation of no more than one additional point per grade to officials of a function group within those entities.
The Secretary-General may also draw on the reserve on his/her own initiative to reward particular officials for exceptional merit.
The merit points award decisions taken by the head of each functional entity, after a decision by the Secretary-General on the points in his/her reserve, shall be notified to staff members individually using a form approved by the Secretary-General.
1. Without prejudice to the Staff Regulations provisions on promotions, there shall be, for each grade, a minimum number of merit points - a 'reference threshold' - above which staff members will automatically be considered for promotion.
The reference threshold is stipulated in paragraph 2 below. As a rule, it is equal to the twice the average number of years in grade, as calculated in accordance with Article 6 (2) of and Annex I, Section B to the Staff Regulations.
Staff members eligible for promotion who have not reached the reference threshold shall not, however, be denied the possibility of promotion. By way of derogation from the provisions of the first subparagraph, staff members eligible for promotion who have been awarded 3 points at least once in their current grade may be promoted without having reached the reference threshold. In such cases, the appointing authority must justify its decision by reference to a comparison of merit between the staff member concerned and staff members in the same function group and grade not proposed for promotion who, following their most recent promotion, have accumulated a total number of merit points equal to or greater than that of the staff member concerned.
2. The career progression plan sets out the number of merit points needed in each grade in order to reach the reference threshold referred to in the previous paragraph. It is as follows:
- Officials
| Grade | AD
HoU / advisor
or equivalent | AD | AST
Senior / in transition | AST | AST
with career restriction Former FG D | AST/SC |
| 14 | - | | | | | |
| 13 | 12 | | | | | |
| 12 | 10 | - | | | | |
| 11 | | 8 | - | | | |
| 10 | | 8 | 10 | | | |
| 9 | | 8 | | - | | |
| 8 | | 6 | | 8 | | |
| 7 | | 6 | | 8 | | |
| 6 | | 6 | | 8 | | - |
| 5 | | 4 | | 8 | - | 18 |
| 4 | | | | 6 | 20 | 15 |
| 3 | | | | 6 | 9 | 12 |
| 2 | | | | 6 | 9 | 10 |
| 1 | | | | 4 | | 8 |
- Contract staff
The appointing authority may in the following cases, on the basis of a comparison of merit, refuse to promote staff members who have reached the reference threshold:
- if they were awarded 0 points at least once in the three years prior to the year in which the promotions procedure takes place,
- if they were awarded no more than 1 point for their most recent year in their current grade, or
if they were disciplined or given a warning during the year in which the promotions procedure takes place or the previous year.
The appointing authority shall suspend the promotion of any staff member eligible for promotion and having reached the reference threshold if, during the year in which the promotions procedure takes place or the previous year, he/she has been the subject of an administrative inquiry, disciplinary proceedings or suspension for serious misconduct.
If the staff member concerned is not subsequently disciplined or given a warning, the appointing authority shall grant the promotion retrospectively.
Staff members wishing to challenge a decision on their merit points and/or a decision to deny them promotion may lodge a complaint under Article 90 (2) of the Staff Regulations.
1. The accumulated merit points of officials in grades AD12 and AD13 who are not in
'head of unit or equivalent' or 'advisor or equivalent' posts and those in grade AST 9 shall lapse as of 1 January 2014.
2. By way of derogation from the previous paragraph, administrators in grades AD 12 and AD 13 assigned between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2015 to 'head of unit or equivalent' or 'advisor or equivalent' posts pursuant to Annex XIII, Article 30(3) of the Staff Regulations shall retain their accumulated merit points and shall be awarded merit points under the promotions procedures for those years.
3. The second subparagraph of Article 6(1) shall apply both to staff members considered deserving and to those considered non-deserving in the staff reports procedure for 2013.
4. These rules shall also apply to contract staff members recruited in accordance with Article 3a of the CEOS who work in Parliament's Secretariat.
Such staff members, with the exception of those in grade 12, shall be awarded merit points; the number of points they will need in order to reach the reference threshold referred to in Article 9 shall be as follows:
| Grade | FG III |
| 12 | - |
| 11 | 10 |
| 10 | 10 |
| 9 | 8 |
| 8 | 6 |
1. The Secretary-General shall adopt provisions for the implementation of this decision.
2. This decision shall enter into force on the day on which it is signed.
3. It replaces the Bureau Decision of 6 July 2005, as last amended by the Bureau Decision of 21 April 2008.
Done at Luxembourg, on 20 June 2014
Klaus Welle