REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2015 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: 2017-02-27
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

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.2.2017  
COM(2017) 96 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the use made in 2015 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) 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 

on the use made in 2015 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  2015.  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. 

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

2 

 
 
 
– 
– 
– 
– 

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 0.88 
in 2015). 

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 

188 

93.33 

234.33

42.33

47 

119 

19 

1 

3 
0 
7 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
Total  113.33 

42
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
10
296.33

2
0
1
8
0
0
0
0
0
53.33

2 

4

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4

0 

9 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 

2 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 

385

47
0
18
8
0
0
0
0
20
478

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 

151 

0 

347

47
0
18
8
0
0
0
0
20
440

Total 

37 

0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

188 

38 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
38 

385

47
0
18
8
0
0
0
0
20
478

1 At OLAF, standby duty is carried out 24/7 by 0.33 AD/0.33 SC/AST/0.33 FG I (total = 1 beneficiary) from the 
security standby team.  

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
2.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment: 

Institution 

JRC 

Indirect 
action 

Technical 
installations 

Security 

ICT 

CFSP/E
SDP 

MS 
24/7 

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

Total 

188 

188 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
188 

0 

0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0 

58

0
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
0
71

36

15
0
5
8
0
0
0
0
4
68

70 

0 

0 

25 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 
105 

0 

0 

7 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
13 

33

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
33

Total 

385

188 

47
0
18
8
0
0
0
0
20
478

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 0.88 
in 2015). 

3.1. 

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

Institution 

AD 

SC/AST

Contract staff 

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

Total

37 

37 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
37 

FG I 
29

FG II 
0

161

156 

19 

0 

0 

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
161

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
29

4 

FG III 

FG IV 

6 

0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

6 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 

Total 

218 

233

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
233

 
 
 
 
 
 
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 2015. 

4.1. 

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

Institution 

AD 

SC/AST

FG I 

FG II 

FG III 

FG IV 

Total  

CA 

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

9 

11 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
11 

Total 

80

33 

6 

60
41
0
0
0
0
0
0
36
217

0 

0 

18

0
443
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
472

14

1
13
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
29

48 

0 

3 

0 
6 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

126

61
503
0
11
0
0
0
0
36
738

5 

 
 
 
 
 
Four different rates of the monthly allowance are provided for (2015 figures): 

– 

– 

– 
– 

rate 1:  work  involving  two  shifts,  excluding  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 394.48; 
rate 2:  work  involving  two  shifts,  including  nights,  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 595.40; 
rate 3: 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 651.00; 
rate 4: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: EUR 887.52. 

4.2. 

Number of beneficiaries per rate: 

Institution 

Rate 1 

Rate 2 

Rate 3 

Rate 4 

EUR 394.48  EUR 595.40 EUR 651.00   EUR 887.52 

Total 

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

0 

Total 

20 

22

36
275
0
2
0
0
0

0
28

363

8 

20

0
158
0
0
0
0
0

0
0

178

20 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

6 

48 

76

25
70
0
9
0
0
0

0
9

189

126

61
503
0
11
0
0
0

0
37

738

4.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment: 

JRC  Crisis/em

ICT 

Security 

Switchboar
d/reception 

CFSP/
ESDP 

Tech. 
Inst. 

Ind. 
Action 

Total 

Institution 

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

Ombudsman 
EEAS 

erg. 
coord. 

48 

48 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

Total 

48 

7 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

7 

19 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
14 

33 

0 

0 

0

0
20
0
2
0
0
0

0
0

22

0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
9

9

0 

3 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

3 

0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0

0

48 

126

61
503
0
11
0
0

0
0
37

738

0 

49

61
483
0
9
0
0
0

0
14

616

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.  

The  European  Parliament  does  not  have  standby  duty  and  only  pays  allowances  for  shift 
work. 

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  2015,  the  Commission  paid  allowances  for  standby  duty  to  385  members  of  its  staff. 
Around 49 % (188) are employed at one of the Research Centres, which is a slight decrease 
compared to 2014 on account of the reorganisation of the call service at the Geel Centre. 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, there was little change compared to 2014. The 
standby  services  are  mainly  used  for  security  and  safety,  technical  installations  and 
IT services, plus assistance for Member States.  

Council: The Council paid allowances for standby services to 47 members of its staff in 2015. 
The  fields  in  question  were  information  and  communication  technology  (ICT)  services, 
security  services  and  support  for  the  CFSP/ESDP.  In  2015,  standby  duty  was  performed 
exclusively at home.  

Court  of  Auditors:  The  Court  of  Auditors  paid  allowances  for  standby  services  at  home  to 
eight members of its staff in 2015. 

EEAS: In 2015, the EEAS paid allowances for standby services at home to 20 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 2015, the Court of Justice paid allowances for standby services at home 
to  18  members  of  its  staff.  This  service  was  established  in  November  2014  at  the 

7 

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

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  2015. 
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. 

In 2015, the total number of hours worked under particularly arduous conditions was broken 
down as follows: 
(cid:190)  70 686.21 hours relating to individual protection (for example, the wearing of particularly 

uncomfortable protective clothing), 

(cid:190)  119 093.01 hours relating to the place of work (for example, high noise levels, dangerous 

sites), and 

(cid:190)  13 402.23 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 (48 and 41 persons respectively in 2015).  

In 2015 shift work was performed in the other DGs (operating budget) by 37 persons in the 
following types of services: 

– 
– 
– 
– 

Security and prevention: 8 
Technical installations: 3 
Information and communication technology (ICT): 19 
Assistance to Member States: 7 

DG  COMM  also  established  a  shift  work  arrangement  in  2015  involving  18  persons 
responsible for preparing press reviews for the President, the College and the Spokesperson’s 
Service.  

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

in 

the  Commission,  with  rate 4 

Council:  The  number  of  individuals  paid  shift-work  allowances  in  the  Council  stands  at 
61 for  2015.  This  allowance  is  used  exclusively  in  the  areas  of  security  and  prevention 
(61 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  2015,  503  allowances  were  granted  for  shift  work  at  the  European  Parliament  -  a 
considerable increase on 2014. This allowance is mainly used in the field of security and, to a 
lesser extent, in the  telephone  service/reception domain. The sharp rise referred to concerns 
mainly the security services. 

Shift  work  consists  of  either  a  two-shift  arrangement  (rate  1),  a  two-shift  arrangement 
including nights, weekends and public holidays (rate 2) 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 2015. 

EEAS: In 2015, the EEAS paid 37 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 

829 677.01

1 323 459.23

581 696.58 

2 734 832.82

- of which JRC: 

273 698.59 

545 662.52 

557 836.14 

1 377 197.25 

Court of Auditors 

104 085.48

Council 

Parliament 
Court of Justice2 

EESC 

CoR 

EDPS 

Ombudsman 

EEAS 

391 455.84

156 580.15

2 697 070.72

0

0

18 021.13

15 198.89

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

214 409.82

62 634.26

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

548 035.99

2 697 070.72

18 021.13

119 284.37

0

0

0

0

277 044.08

Total 

4 236 698.87

1 575 893.66

581 696.58 

6 394 289.11

The  amount  spent  on  the  three  allowances  in  all  the  European  Institutions  stood  at 
EUR 6 394 289.11 in 2015 (EUR 5 594 969.65 in 2014).  

2  New  budgetary  expenditure  following  the  establishment  of  a  standby  service  at  the  Court  of  Justice  in 
November 2014. 

9