REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2017 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: 2019-05-08
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, 8.5.2019  COM(2019) 217 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2017 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 2017 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  2017.  It  covers  all  the  Institutions,  and  for  the  sake  of  completeness  also 
(Council 
contains 
Regulation No 300/76). 

the  use  of  shift  work 

information  on 

the  same 

type  of 

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: 

1 

 
 
 
– 
– 
– 
– 

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 0.92 
in 2017). 

The following figures indicate the number of allowances granted by each institution for 2017. 

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 

152 

110.33 
43 

205.33 

49.33 

88 

17 

1 

11 
0 
7 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
6 
Total  134.33 

57 
0 
16 
0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
9 
292.33 

3 
0 
1 
14 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
67.33 

2 

10 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 

1 

16 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
17 

3 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 

394 

71 
0 
24 
14 
2 
0 
0 
0 
15 
524 

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 

138 

0 

379 

71 
0 
24 
14 
2 
4 
0 
0 
15 
509 

Total 

14 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

152 

15 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
15 

394 

71 
0 
24 
14 
2 
4 
0 
0 
15 
524 

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.  

2 

 
 
 
 
                                                 
 
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 

152 

152 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
152 

0 

3 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 

72 

0 
0 
14 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
86 

39 

83 

0 

45 

394 

0 

0 

0 

0 

152 

19 
0 
10 
14 
2 
4 
0 
0 
3 
91 

45 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 
137 

7 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 
10 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
45 

71 
0 
24 
14 
2 
4 
0 
0 
15 
524 

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 0.92 
in 2017). 

3.1. 

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

Institution 

AD 

SC/AST 

Contract staff 

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 

33 

33 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
33 

Total 

155 

149 

16 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
155 

1 

25 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
25 

0 

1 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 

8 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
8 

207 

222 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
222 

3 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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 2017. 

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 

0 

2 

0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 

75 

18 

22 

6 

0 

76 
45 
0 
0 
2 
3 
0 
0 
37 
238 

0 
516 
0 
16 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
550 

29 

0 

10 

9 
10 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
30 

1 

8 

0 
7 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
16 

1 

0 
2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
3 

114 

85 
581 
0 
16 
2 
4 
0 
0 
38 
840 

Total 

4 

 
 
 
 
Four different rates of the monthly allowance are provided for (2017 figures): 

– 

– 

– 
– 

rate 1:  work  involving  two  shifts,  excluding  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 413.61; 
rate 2:  work  involving  two  shifts,  including  nights,  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 624.28; 
rate 3: 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 682.57; 
rate 4: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: EUR 930.56. 

4.2. 

Number of beneficiaries per rate: 

Institution 

Rate 1 

Rate 2 

Rate 3 

Rate 4 

€ 413.61  

€ 624.28 

€ 682.57  

€ 930.56  

Total 

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

0 

23 

32 
307 
0 
2 
2 
4 
0 

0 
27 

397 

Total 

0 

0 

8 

0 
205 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

205 

21 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

8 

29 

83 

53 
69 
0 
14 
0 
0 
0 

0 
11 

230 

114 

85 
581 
0 
16 
2 
4 
0 

0 
38 

840 

4.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment: 

JRC 

Crisis/ 
emerg. 
coord. 

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 

29 

29 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

Total 

29 

0 

0 

0 

0 
164 
0 
3 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

167 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
11 

11 

0 

1 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

1 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

29 

114 

85 
581 
0 
16 
2 
4 

0 
0 
38 

840 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

8 

22 

0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
11 

33 

54 

85 
417 
0 
13 
2 
4 
0 

0 
16 

591 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
5. 

SERVICES CONCERNED AND REASONS 

The Council, the Commission, the EEAS, the European Parliament, the Court of Justice and 
the Court of Auditors use standby duty and/or shift work and pay the allowances provided for 
by the legislation.  

From 2017, the Committee of the Regions and the Economic and Social Committee have been 
running a joint standby duty and shift work service. 

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:   
In  2017,  the  Commission  paid  allowances  for  standby  duty  to  394  members  of  its  staff 
(350 staff  in  2016).  About  40  %  (152)  of  them  work  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 owing to the specific nature of the tasks 
to be performed. 

In the other Commission Directorates-General, there was little change compared to 2016. The 
standby  services  are  used  mainly  for  security  and  safety,  technical  installations  and 
IT services.  There  has,  however,  been  an  increase  in  the  number  of  beneficiaries  of  the 
standby allowance in order to provide assistance to Member States 24/7 (45 staff in 2017 up 
from  32  in  2016),  particularly  within  DG  ECHO,  to  monitor  incidents  in  real-time  and 
respond immediately to disasters around the world at all times.  

Council:  The  Council  paid  allowances  for  standby  duty  to  71  members  of  its  staff  in  2017 
(62 in  2016).  Three  services  have  been  set  up  to  cover  the  following  areas:  (1)  Information 
and  Communication  Technologies  (ICT),  to  ensure  that  staff  are  available  to  guarantee  the 
protection and proper functioning of the IT and communications networks, (2) Safety/Security 
to  respond  immediately  to  any  incident  that  could  affect  GSC  staff  and  the  activities  of  the 
Council  and  the  European  Council,  and  to  provide  24/7  support  to  security  officers  on 
mission, (3) to  take swift  action to  draft, publish on the internet  and disseminate immediate 
and urgent statements by the rotating Presidency and the President of the European Council in 
the context of the CFSP/ESDP. In 2017, standby duty was performed exclusively at home.  

Court of Auditors: In 2017, the monthly planning of the security and safety department set up 
in 2011 includes standby duties at home for 14 staff members (10 in 2016). They ensure the 
safety of buildings and their occupants round the clock throughout the year. 

EEAS: In 2017, the EEAS paid allowances for standby services at home to 15 members of its 
staff (16 in 2016) in three fields: (1) security services, to provide round-the-clock protection 
to EEAS staff, visitors, premises and property in Brussels and to protect classified information 
(at  Headquarters  and  in  the  Delegations);  (2)  support  to  the  CFSP/ESDP  to  monitor  events 
around  the  world  24/7,  respond  to  crises,  incidents,  critical  events,  specific  situations  or 

6 

 
 
 
 
emergencies, provide support to the High Representative and EU actors, facilitate meetings of 
the  EEAS  Crisis  Platform  outside  normal  working  hours;  (3)  the  information  and 
communication  technology  service  via  the  COMCEN  (Communication  Centre)  which 
provides  services  for  the  transmission  of  classified  information  to  all  EEAS  staff  members, 
while  also  providing  services  to  the  General  Secretariat  of  the  Council  in  order  to  ensure 
swift handling of urgent classified information. 

Court of Justice: In 2017, the Court of Justice paid allowances for standby services at home 
to 24 members of its staff. This service was established in November 2014 at the Directorate-
General  for  Infrastructure.  The  Buildings  Directorate  is  responsible  for  protecting  the 
institution, fire prevention, and health and safety at work. It comprises three units responsible 
for new work, buildings management and safety and security.  

CoR-EESC: A joint standby service was set up within the security service at the CoR and the 
EESC on 1 March 2017 to ensure that security staff can be reached and are ready to react at 
all  times  should  incidents  requiring  action  arise  when  the  institution  is  closed.  In  2017,  the 
standby service at home concerned 4 CoR staff and 2 EESC 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  2017. 
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 2017, the total number of hours worked under particularly arduous conditions was broken 
down as follows: 
  63 598.72 hours relating to individual protection (for example, the wearing of particularly 

uncomfortable protective clothing), 

  115 068.21 hours relating to the place of work (for example, high noise levels, dangerous 

sites), and 

  12 803.10 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 (29 and 46 persons respectively in 2017).  

In 2017 shift work was performed in the other Directorates-General (operating budget) by 39 
persons in the following types of services: 

– 
– 
– 
– 

Security and prevention: 8 (OIL) 
Technical installations: 1 (OP) 
Information and communication technology (ICT): 22 (DG COMM) 
Assistance to Member States: 8 (DG ECHO) 

The  shift  work  arrangement  at  DG  COMM  was  established  in  2015  in  order  to  prepare 
press reviews for the President, the College and the Spokesperson’s Service. 

7 

 
 
 
 
The  round-the-clock  service  at  DG  ECHO  has  been  operational  since  2013  following  the 
establishment  of  a  Monitoring  and  Information  Centre  to  assist  Member  States  and  the 
Commission during disasters. 

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

Council: The Council has a system of shift work, which is essential to ensure the continuity 
of  the  services  responsible  for  the  safety  and  security  of  buildings  and  persons  in  the  two 
Council buildings. 

Directorate-General A has been reorganised to ensure optimal efficiency in terms of the staff 
in  place. The Prevention Unit  has been merged  with  the Safety and Security Directorate,  as 
they required a round-the-clock presence (rate 4) throughout 2017 in order to carry out their 
tasks.  As  before,  the  other  units  guaranteeing  the  various  aspects  of  security  required  shift 
work (rate 1) and continuous work (rate 4).  

The  reorganisation  of  these  services,  which  include  AST  officials  and  contract  staff  (FGII), 
did not lead to a rise in the number of allowances in 2017 (85) compared to 2016 (86). 

European Parliament: In 2017, the European Parliament paid shift work allowances to cover 
(1)  safety  and  security  services  in  the  3  places  of  work:  Brussels,  Strasbourg  and 
Luxembourg,  (2)  services  related  to  the  reception,  security  and  control  of  visitors 
(Parlamentarium,  House  of  European  History  (since  2017),  Sports  Centre  (since  2017))  and 
communication via the switchboard, which offers a variety of services in  several languages, 
including  the  transfer  of  incoming  and  outgoing  calls,  the  provision  of  contact  information 
(telephone  and  fax  numbers,  email  and  office  addresses),  information  on  meetings  and  the 
buildings of the European Parliament.  

The  set-up  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). There were 581 beneficiaries in 2017 (570 in 2016). 

Court of Auditors: The Court of Auditors has been using shift work in the fields of security 
and  telephone  service/reception  since  2011.  The  types  of  shift  work  put  in  place  are  a 
two-shift  arrangement  (rate 1)  and  a  continuous  24-hour  service  (rate 4).  There  were 
16 beneficiaries in 2017 (14 in 2016). 

EEAS:  In  2017,  the  EEAS  paid  38  shift  work  allowances  to  ensure  the  daily  monitoring, 
assessment and flagging up of politically significant events or situations on a 24/7 basis and to 
provide  services  for  the  transmission  of  classified  information  to  all  EEAS  staff  and  to  the 
High Representative and other EU actors (European Commission, General Secretariat of the 
Council, EU Agencies, EU Member States). 

Two types of allowance are applicable at the EEAS, mainly rate 1 and rate 4. The number of 
beneficiaries remained stable.  

CoR-EESC: The joint shift work service has been operating at the CoR and at the EESC since 
1 March 2017 to meet the need for continuous presence in the security service. The CoR pays 
allowances to 4 beneficiaries (rate 1) and the EESC to 2 beneficiaries (rate 1). 

8 

 
 
6. 

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

Institution 

Shift work 

Standby duty 

Arduous working 
conditions 

Total 

Commission 

1 016 105.21 

1 357 562.14 

622 521.54 

2 996 188.89 

- of which JRC: 

260 638.58 

543 164.63 

595 924.90 

1 399 728.11 

Council 

Parliament 

Court of Justice 

Court of Auditors 

EESC 

CoR 

EDPS 

Ombudsman 

EEAS 

672 443.72 

201 886.92 

3 717 011.75 

0 

149 853.04 

8 223.32 

16 446.64 

0 

0 

0 

60 811.47 

14 806.32 

0 

11 773.65 

0 

0 

211 538.69 

57 982.14 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

874 330.64 

3 717 011.75 

60 811.47 

164 659.36 

8 223.32 

28 220.29 

0 

0 

269 520.83 

Total 

5 791 622.37 

1 704 822.64 

622 521.54 

8 118 966.55 

The  amount  spent  on  the  three  allowances  in  all  the  European  Institutions  stood  at 
EUR 8 118 966.55 in 2017 (EUR 7 364 776.86 in 2016).  

9