REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2014 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly arduous working conditions), and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 (on shift work)
Date: 2017-01-06
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: European official, allowances and expenses, application of EU law, continuous working day, servant (EU), shift work, staff regulations (EU), working conditions

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 6.1.2017  COM(2016) 832 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2014 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly arduous working conditions), and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 (on shift work)  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the use made in 2014 by the institutions of Council Regulations No 495/77, last 
amended by Regulation No 1945/2006 (on standby duty), No 858/2004 (on particularly 
arduous working conditions), and No 300/76, last amended by Regulation No 1873/2006 
(on shift work) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  Council  Regulations  on  standby  duty  (No 495/77)  and  on  particularly  arduous  working 
conditions  (No 858/2004)  require  the  Commission  to  report  annually  to  the  Council  on  the 
number of officials and other servants in each category receiving the allowances referred to in 
the respective Regulations and the total related expenditure. 

This report is based on the latest full-year figures available at the time of its preparation and 
thus  refers  to  2014.  It  covers  all  the  Institutions,  and  for  the  sake  of  completeness  also 
contains  the  same  type  of  information  on  the  use  of  shift  work  (Council  Regulation 
No 300/76). 

2. 

STANDBY DUTY ALLOWANCE 

The  legal  bases  for  this  allowance  are  Articles 55  and  56b  of  the  Staff  Regulations  and 
Council  Regulation  No 495/77  of  8 March 1977,  as  last  amended  by  Council  Regulation 
No 1945/2006 of 11 December 2006. 

Payment  of  the  allowance  is  limited  to  officials  and  other  servants  paid  from  research 
appropriations and employed in: 

– 
– 

an establishment of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), or  
indirect action, or 

paid from operating appropriations and employed in: 

– 
– 
– 
– 

– 

the running or supervision of technical installations, 
a safety and security department, 
an information and communication technology (ICT) services department, 
a department providing support  for the Common Foreign and Security Policy 
(CFSP)/European  Security  and  Defence  Policy (ESDP)  or  for  emergency  and 
crisis coordination arrangements, or 
a  mechanism  established  to  provide  assistance  to  Member  States  24 hours  a 
day,  7 days  a  week  (MS 24/7),  for  emergency  and  crisis  coordination 
arrangements  or  in  services  where  there  is  a  confirmed  necessity  for  the 
execution of tasks in order to guarantee a mechanism for providing assistance 
to Member States. 

2 

 
 
 
 
The  standby  duty  allowance  is  expressed  in  points.  The  number  of  points  granted  for  each 
hour of actual standby duty is fixed as follows: 

– 
– 
– 
– 

standby duty at home, working day: 2.15 points; 
standby duty at home, weekend and public holidays: 4.3 points; 
standby duty at the place of work, working day: 11 points; 
standby duty at the place of work, weekend and public holidays: 22 points. 

Each point is equal to 0.032% of the basic salary of an official in grade 1, step 1 (= EUR 0.86 
in 2014). 

2.1. 

Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff)1: 

Institution 

AD 

SC / 
AST 

CA 

Total 

FG I 

FG II 

FG III  

FG IV 

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

122 

246.5 

36.5 

76 

127 

14 

0 

3 
0 
6 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
7 
138 

45 
0 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
310.5 

2 
0 
1 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
48.5 

218 

1 

4 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 

0 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
8 

2 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 

419 

50 
0 
16 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
17 
511 

Total 

2.2. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of standby duty: 

Institution 

At home 

At home and at 
the place of 
work 

At the place of 
work 

Total 

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

176 

6 

376 

50 
0 
0 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
17 
452 

Total 

36 

6 

0 
0 
16 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
22 

218 

37 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
37 

419 

50 
0 
16 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
17 
511 

1 Two people share standby duty at OLAF to provide a 24/7 security presence as members of the security 
standby team (= 0.5 SC/AST + 0.5 FG I). 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
2.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment: 

Institution 

JRC 

Indirect 
action 

Technical 
installations 

Security 

ICT 

CFSP/E
SDP 

MS 
24/7 

Total 

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

Total 

218 

218 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
218 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

55 

0 
0 
12 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
67 

36 

74 

0 

36 

419 

0 

0 

0 

0 

218 

15 
0 
4 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 
67 

25 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
109 

10 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 
14 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
36 

50 
0 
16 
9 
0 
0 
0 
0 
17 
511 

3. 

ALLOWANCE FOR PARTICULARLY ARDUOUS WORKING CONDITIONS 

The  legal  bases  for  this  allowance  are  Article 56c  of  the  Staff  Regulations  and  Council 
Regulation  No 858/2004  of  29 April 2004,  which  replaced  Council  Regulation  No 1799/72.

The  allowance  for  particularly  arduous  working  conditions  is  expressed  in  terms  of  points 
granted for each hour of actual work, with a distinction being made between special working 
conditions  connected  with  ‘safety  of  the  individual’,  ‘place  of  work’  and  ‘nature  of  work’. 
The number of points varies between 2, e.g. for an average sound level exceeding 85 decibels, 
and an upper limit of 50 in the case of an official wearing a self-contained fire protection suit. 
Each point is equal to 0.032 % of the basic salary of an official in grade 1, step 1 (= EUR 0.86 
in 2014). 

3.1. 

Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff): 

Institution 

AD 

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

36 

36 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
36 

Total 

Contract staff 

FG I 

FG II 

FG III 

FG IV 

Total 

0 

31 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
31 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

4 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

4 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 

228 

243 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
243 

SC / 
AST 

172 

167 

21 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
172 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4. 

SHIFT WORK ALLOWANCE 

The  legal  bases  for  this  allowance  are  Article 56a  of  the  Staff  Regulations  and  Council 
Regulation  No 300/76  of  9 February 1976,  as  last  amended  by  Council  Regulation 
No 1873/2006 of 11 December 2006. 

Payment  of  the  allowance  is  limited  to  officials  and  other  servants  paid  from  research 
appropriations and employed in: 

–  an establishment of the Joint Research Centre (JRC), or 
– 

indirect action, or  

paid from operating appropriations and employed in: 

–  an information and communication technology (ICT) services department, 
–  a safety and security department, 
–  a telephone switchboard/information service or on a reception desk, 
–  a  department  providing  support  for  the  Common  Foreign  and  Security  Policy 
(CFSP)/European  Security  and  Defence  Policy  (ESDP)  or  for  emergency  and  crisis 
coordination arrangements, 

–  a service providing support for emergency or crisis coordination arrangements, or 
– 

the running or supervision of technical installations. 

The following figures indicate the number of allowances granted by each institution for 2014. 

4.1. 

Number of beneficiaries (officials/temporary staff and contract staff)2: 

Institution 

AD 

SC / 
AST 

CA 

FG I 

FG II 

FG III 

FG IV 

Total  

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

9 

9 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 

67.5 

17 

34 

6 

0 

62 
30 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
35 
194.5 

0 
283 
0 
11 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
311 

0 

5 

0 
16 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
22 

2 

0 
14 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
16 

0 

100.5 

0 

49 

0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 

62 
344 
0 
11 
0 
0 
0 
0 
36 
553.5 

Total 

2 DG BUDG reported that shift work was carried out by two members of statutory staff up to 1 July 2014 and by 
one staff member from 1 July 2014 (= 1.5 SC/AST for 2014 as a whole).  

5 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
Four different rates of the monthly allowance are provided for (2014 figures): 

– 

– 

– 
– 

rate 1:  work  involving  two  shifts,  excluding  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 385.23; 
rate 2:  work  involving  two  shifts,  including  nights,  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 581.45; 
rate 3: 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 635.74; 
rate 4: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: EUR 866.72. 

4.2. 

Number of beneficiaries per rate: 

Institution 

Rate 1 

Rate 2 

Rate 3 

Rate 4 

€ 385.23  

€ 581.45 

€ 635.74  

€ 866.72  

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 
Ombudsman 
EEAS 

11.5 

0 

21 

37 
123 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 

0 
26 

Total 

199.5 

8 

21 

0 
119 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

140 

20 

8 

0 
58 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

66 

4.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment: 

Total 

100.5 

49 

62 
344 
0 
11 
0 
0 
0 

0 
36 

60 

25 
44 
0 
9 
0 
0 
0 

0 
10 

148 

553.5 

JRC  Emergen

ICT 

cy & 
crisis 
coordina
tion 

Security  Switchbo
ard/Recep
tion 

CFSP/
ESDP 

Tech. 
installat
ions 

Indirect 
action 

Institution 

Commission 
– of which JRC: 
Council 
Parliament 
Court of Justice 
Court of Auditors 
EESC 
CoR 
EDPS 

Ombudsman 
EEAS 

49 

49 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

Total 

49 

Total 

100.5 

49 

62 
344 
0 
11 
0 
0 

0 
0 
36 

553.5 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

1.5 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
13 

14.5 

0 

47 

59 
320 
0 
9 
0 
0 
0 

0 
13 

448 

0 

0 

0 
24 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

26 

0 

0 

3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
10 

13 

0 

3 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

3 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
5. 

SERVICES CONCERNED AND REASONS 

The Council, the Commission, the EEAS (which took over much of the former DG RELEX) 
and the Court of Auditors use standby duty and shift work and pay the allowances provided 
for by the legislation.  

In  November 2014, 
the 
Directorate-General  for  Infrastructure  to  cover  the  supervision  of  technical  installations  and 
performance of security-related tasks.  

the  Court  of  Justice  set  up  a  new  standby  service  at 

The  Commission  remains  the  only  institution  to  pay  allowances  for  particularly  arduous 
working  conditions,  at  the  JRC  and  the  Office  for  Infrastructure  and  Logistics  in  Brussels 
(OIB). 

5.1. 

Reasons for standby duty 

Commission:   
Joint Research Centre (JRC)   
In  2014,  the  Commission  paid  standby  allowance  to  some  419  members  of  staff, 
approximately 52 % (218) of whom are employed in one of the research centres. The reasons 
for standby duty are, as in previous years, generally security- and safety-related (fire-fighting 
service,  radiation  monitoring,  radiation  protection,  etc.).  In  most  cases  at  the  JRC,  standby 
duty is carried out at home, with the exception of Ispra and Karlsruhe, where the duties are 
undertaken at the place of work – or at home and at the place of work – owing to the specific 
nature of the tasks to be performed. 

Other   
In  the  other  Commission  Directorates-General,  the  standby  services  are  mainly  used  for 
security and safety, technical installations and IT services, plus assistance for Member States. 

In 2014, there was a significant increase in the number of beneficiaries at the OIB (rising from 
17  to  39),  owing  to  the  creation  of  four  new  at-home  standby  services  (in  addition  to  the 
existing  service)  to  cover  the  four  geographical  zones  in  which  the  various  buildings  in 
Brussels  are  located,  enabling  continuous  provision  of  a  rapid  response  in  the  event  of  an 
incident affecting the building stock’s technical installations. 

Council: The Council paid allowances for standby services at home to 50 members of its staff 
in  2014.  The  fields  in  question  were  information  and  communication  technology  (ICT) 
services,  security  services  and  support  for  the  CFSP/ESDP.  Standby  duty  was  performed 
exclusively at home.  

Court  of  Auditors:  The  Court  of  Auditors  paid  allowances  for  standby  services  at  home  to 
nine members of its staff in 2014. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EEAS: In 2014, the EEAS paid allowances for standby services at home to 17 members of its 
staff  in  three  fields:  security  services,  support  for  the  CFSP/ESDP,  and  information  and 
communication technology (ICT) services.  

Court of Justice: In November 2014 a new standby service was set up in two fields, namely 
technical installations and security services, at home and at the place of work. The Court of 
Justice paid allowances for standby services to 16 members of its staff.  

5.2. 

Reasons for using the allowance for particularly arduous working conditions 

Commission:  The  Commission  is  the  only  institution  to  have  used  this  possibility  in  2014. 
The  Office  for  Infrastructure  and  Logistics  in  Brussels  (OIB)  introduced  it  in  one  of  its 
services  (reproduction  service)  in  2008;  the  Joint  Research  Centre  was  already  using  it 
(for reasons relating to the nature of the tasks). 

In 2014, the total number of hours worked under particularly arduous conditions was broken 
down as follows: 
  76 996.59 hours relating to individual protection (for example, the wearing of particularly 

uncomfortable protective clothing), 

  129 751.25 hours relating to the place of work (for example, high noise levels, dangerous 

sites), and 

  16 561.14 hours relating to the nature of the work (for example, handling of corrosive 

substances). 

5.3. 

Reasons for shift work 

Commission: Within the Commission, it is the JRC (for reasons relating to the nature of the 
tasks) and DG HR (safety and security department) which have the greatest need for this type 
of work organisation (49 and 32 persons respectively in 2014).  

In 2014 shift work was performed in the other DGs (operating budget) by 19.5 persons in the 
following types of services: 

– 
– 
– 

Security and prevention: 15 
Technical installations: 3 
Information and communication technology (ICT): 1.5 

All  four  rates  (types  of  allowance)  are  applied  in  the  Commission,  rate 4  (around-the-clock 
service) being used mainly in the security services. 

Council:  The  number  of  individuals  paid  shift-work  allowances  in  the Council  stands  at  62 
for  2014.  This  allowance  is  used  primarily  in  the  fields  of  security  and  prevention 
(59 members of staff) and CFSP/ESDP (3 members of staff). Shift work consists of either a 
two-shift arrangement (rate 1) or a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4).  

European  Parliament:  To  safeguard  and  protect  people,  infrastructure,  information  and 
events  occurring  during  public  holidays,  weekends  or  nights  and  to  ensure  the  continued 
presence  of  security  staff  in  buildings  while  avoiding  recourse  to  overtime,  which  would 
increase  Parliament's  budget,  it  was  decided  to  apply  Council  Regulation  300/76  of 

8 

 
 
 
 
9 February 1976, 
amended  by  Council  Regulation  No 1873/2006  of 
11 December 2006, and to replace overtime by specific work patterns. Therefore, security and 
prevention staff are entitled to the allowance for shift work.  

last 

as 

In  2014,  344  allowances  were  granted  for  shift  work  at  the  European  Parliament;  this  was 
more  than  double  the  number  in  2013.  This  allowance  is  currently  used  in  the  fields  of 
security and the telephone service/reception. The sharp increase referred to above was in the 
security services. 

Shift  work  consists  of  a  two-shift  arrangement  (rate 1),  a  two-shift  arrangement  including 
nights,  weekends  and  public  holidays  (rate 2),  a  24-hour  service  excluding  weekends  and 
public holidays (rate 3), or a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4).  

Court of Auditors: The Court of Auditors has been using shift work in the fields of security 
and  telephone  service/reception  since  2011.  Shift  work  consists  of  either  a  two-shift 
arrangement (rate 1) or a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4). A total of 11 allowances were 
paid in 2014. 

EEAS: In 2014, the EEAS paid 36 allowances in the fields of information and communication 
technology (ICT), security, and the CFSP/ESDP. 

6. 

BUDGET EXPENDITURE, PER INSTITUTION AND PER ALLOWANCE (IN EUR) 

Institution 

Shift work 

Standby duty 

Arduous working 
conditions 

Total 

Commission 

813 756.85 

1 399 835.26 

588 256.91 

2 801 849.02 

– of which JRC: 

258 328.90 

644 199.79 

563 607.34 

1 466 136.03 

Council 

Parliament 

Court of Justice 

413 194.56 

187 498.74 

1 795 946.01 

0 

0 
03 

Court of Auditors 

103 964.78 

15 354.90 

EESC 

CoR 

EDPS 

Ombudsman 

EEAS 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

215 023.23 

62 138.41 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

600 693.30 

1 795 946.01 

0 

119 319.68 

0 

0 

0 

0 

277 161.64 

Total 

3 341 885.43 

1 664 827.31 

588 256.91 

5 594 969.65 

3 Since the standby service at the Court of Justice was only set up in November 2014, no budgetary expenditure 
was recorded for 2014. 

9 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
The  amount  spent  on  the  three  allowances  in  all  the  European  Institutions  stood  at 
EUR 5 594 969.65 in 2014.  

10