Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 858/2004 of 29 April 2004 determining the rates and conditions of the special allowances provided for in Article 56c of the Staff Regulations which may be granted to compensate for particularly arduous working conditions
Date: 2004-04-29
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: European official, allowances and expenses, regulations for civil servants, servant (EU), working conditions

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COUNCIL REGULATION (EC, EURATOM) No 858/2004 

of 29 April 2004 

determining the rates and conditions of the special allowances 

provided for in Article 56c of the Staff Regulations 

which may be granted to compensate for particularly arduous 

working conditions 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having regard to the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other 

Servants of the European Communities laid down in Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 
259/68 1 as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 723/2004 2, and in particular Article 56c 

of the Staff Regulations, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission submitted after consulting the Staff 

Regulations Committee, 

1 
2 

OJ L 56, 4.3.1968, p. 1. 
OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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Whereas: 

It is for the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, to determine the rates and 

conditions of the special allowances which may be granted to certain officials to compensate for 

particularly arduous working conditions, 

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

Article 1 

Special allowances determined in accordance with the following Articles shall be granted to 

officials called upon to do particularly arduous work. 

Article 2 

The allowances shall be expressed in points.  One point shall be equal to 0,032% of the basic salary 
of an official in grade 1, step 1 1.  The allowances shall be adjusted by the correction coefficients 

applicable to the remuneration of officials. 

The allowances shall be paid monthly. 

Article 3 

1.   The following table lists the special working conditions in which allowances may be granted 

and the number of points per hour of actual work: 

1 

For the period from 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2006: Grade D*1, step 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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Special working conditions 

I.   Safety of the individual 

Number of points 
per hour of actual 
work for function 
groups AD and 
AST 1 

(a)  Wearing of particularly uncomfortable clothing for protection against fire, 

contamination, radiation or corrosive substances:  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Special heavy clothing 

Self-contained protective suits against fire 

Other self-contained protective suits 

Protective clothing with self-contained breathing apparatus 

Other protective clothing with breathing apparatus 

(b) 

Partial protection:  

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Self-contained breathing apparatus 

Complete respirators  

Anti-dust respirators 

Other protective apparatus against toxic, asphyxiating, corrosive substances, etc.  

Glove-boxes and remote handling devices 

II.   Place of work 

(a) 

Confined 

Work in confined spaces, without daylight, which are crossed by high-tension cables or 
by high-temperature pipework and which are so cluttered as to make it difficult to move 
about  

(b)  Noisy 

Work in spaces with an average sound volume exceeding 85 decibels 

(c) 
1. 

Dangerous sites necessitating the use of onerous protective appliances 
Underground passages 

Places where work is carried out at more than 6 metres above the ground 

2. 
involving exceptional risks 

In these cases the allowance shall be granted by decision of the appointing authority 
after consulting, where appropriate, a joint committee.  

(a) 

Handling or working with certain substances in conditions which make the work 
arduous (see list in Annex) 

(b)  Work with explosives as a certified explosives expert  

III.   Nature of work 

10 

50 

34 

25 

20 

16 

10 

6 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

5 

2 

5 

1 

For the period from 1 May 2004 to 30 April 2006: categories A*, B*, C*, D*. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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2.   In order to make constant supervision possible, work performed under the conditions defined in 

paragraph 1 must be recorded promptly and in chronological order.  The record must detail the 

work performed by reference to the above table. 

The appointing authority shall lay down the procedure for carrying out the supervision; where the 

number of hours of work in question can be taken as being the same every month the appointing 

authority may dispense with the record. 

Article 4 

The allowances for work performed under the conditions defined in item I of the table in Article 3 

may not be aggregated; nor may those provided for in items II and III of that table. 

The allowances for work performed under the conditions defined in items I and III of that table may 

also not be aggregated. 

For the purposes of applying the above paragraphs, where more than one allowance would be due at 

the same time the highest allowance only shall be paid. 

Article 5 

Subject to the application of Article 2 of Regulation (ECSC, EEC, Euratom) No 300/76 determining 

the categories of officials entitled to allowances for shiftwork, and the rates and conditions 
thereof 1, the allowances paid under this Regulation shall not exceed 1 500 points per official 

per month. 

1 

OJ L 38, 13.2.1976, p. 1.  Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC, Euratom) 
No .../2004 (OJ L ...). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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Article 6 

This Regulation shall apply by analogy to temporary, auxiliary and contract staff. 

Article 7 

In April each year the Commission shall submit to the Council a report on:  

– 

the number of officials and servants in each category who received the allowances referred to 

in this Regulation, broken down by institution and location, and the number of hours worked 

under the various conditions set out in the table in Article 3, 

– 

the total expenditure relating to these allowances. 

Article 8 

Regulation (EEC) No 1799/72 1 is hereby repealed on the day on which this Regulation enters into 

force. 

1 

OJ L 192, 22.8.1972, p. 1. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
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Article 9 

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 May 2004. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Luxembourg, 29 April 2004. 

For the Council 

The President 

M. McDOWELL 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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ANNEX 

List referred to in Article 3 

A.  Corrosive and asphyxiating substances: 

1. 

In handling:  

Halogens, hydrohalogen acids (hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids), halogen fluorides; 

sulphuric acid, sulphur chloride, caustic soda and caustic potash, ammonia. 

2. 

In technical processes: 

Scouring and passivation of stainless steels and light alloys by submersion in, or contact 

with, scouring or oxidising agents.  

B.  Toxic substances: 

1. 

In handling:  

Toxic forms of radioactive substances; beryllium and compounds; arsenic and 

compounds; mercury, compounds and amalgams; tetraethyl lead; hydrocyanic acid; 

cyanides and acrylonitrile; nitrogen oxide and nitrogen dioxide; phosphorus and 

phosphoric ethers; selenium; deuterium oxide. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2. 

In technical processes: 

Manufacture, concentration and storage of toxic forms of radioactive substances; 

casting, welding and working of lead and alloys or lead antimony and cadmium 

antimony. 

C.  Highly flammable and/or explosive substances:  

1. 

In handling: 

Compressed gases: acetylene, oxygen, methane, ethane, ethylene and rare gases; volatile 

organic solvents such as methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, diethyl ether, acetone, benzene, 

toluene; liquid metals such as sodium or potassium; sulphur. 

2. 

In technical processes: 

Argon welding; cleaning and degreasing very dirty parts with solvents such as 

trichloroethylene; use of organic liquids such as diphenyl, triphenyl, polyphenyl, 

Dowtherm, highboiler residues in circuits; pouring of paraffin or bitumen. 

D.  Dirty products: 

1. 

In handling:  

Cadmium, chromium, nickel, bismuth, barium, vanadium and manganese compounds in 

powder form; powdered iron oxide.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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2. 

In technical processes: 

Processing of graphite; greasing and draining pumps and motors such as vacuum pumps, fluid 

circulation pumps, decompression pumps, compressed air generators; polishing with special 

substances; handling of metal slag. 

This Annex shall be amended by the Council on a proposal from the Commission in the light 

of scientific and technical developments.