REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2019 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: 2021-04-26
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, 26.4.2021  COM(2021) 204 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT on the use made in 2019 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 2019 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  2019.  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 amended. 

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 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: 

– 
– 
– 

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; 

1 

 
 
– 

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 0.95 
in 2019). 

The following figures indicate the number of allowances granted by each institution for 2019. 

2.1. 

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

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 
Total 

139 

48 

81 

15 
0 
11 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
14 
179 

206 

68 
0 
15 
1 
3 
3 
0 
0 
11 
307 

18 

50 

2 
0 
1 
16 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
69 

8 

12 

9 

0 

1 

3 

151 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 
10 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
5 
18 

0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 
11 

424 

85 
0 
28 
17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
33 
594 

2 

 
 
2.2.  Number of beneficiaries per type of standby duty 

At home and at 
the place of 
work 

Institution 

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

At home 
409 

137 

5 

85 
0 
28 
17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
33 
579 

At the place of work 
10 

Total  
424 

9 

151 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
10 

85 
0 
28 
17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
33 
594 

5 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
5 

2.3. 

Number of beneficiaries per type of employment 

Institution 

JRC 

Indirect 
action 

Technical 
installations 

Security 

ICT  CFSP/
ESDP 

MS 
24/7 

Total 

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

151 

151 

0 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
151 

0 

2 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 

58 

0 
0 
16 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
74 

39 

133 

0 

41 

424 

0 

0 

0 

0 

151 

28 
0 
12 

17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
4 
107 

46 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 
188 

11 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
20 
31 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
41 

85 
0 

28 

17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
33 
594 

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,  as  amended.  The  allowance  is  granted  to 
compensate  for particularly  arduous  working  conditions  relating to (1) ‘personal  protection’ 

3 

 
 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
(wearing of uncomfortable special clothing, partial protection), (2) ‘place of work’ (confined, 
noisy  and  dangerous  places)  and  (3)  ‘nature  of  work’  (for  example,  handling  of  corrosive 
substances, work with explosives)1.  

The  allowance  is  expressed  in  terms  of  points  granted  for  each  hour  of  actual  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 0.95 
in 2019). 

3.1. 

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

CA 

FG III 

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

AD 

36 

SC-AST 
144 

FG I  FG II 
0 

26 

32 

132 

16 

0 

1 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
36 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
144 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
26 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

FG IV 
9 

Total  

216 

9 

190 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
216 

1 

0 
0 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
1 

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 amended. 

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, 

1 Article 3 of Council Regulation No 858/2004. 

4 

 
 
                                                 
–  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 2019. 

4.1. 

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

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

AD 

0 

0 

0 
4 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
4 

CA 

SC-AST 
75 

FG I 
20 

FG II 
24 

FG III  FG IV 
0 

6 

21 

9 

0 

0 

0 

30 

65 
57 

0 

1 
3 
3 
0 
0 
36 
240 

0 
516 

0 

16 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
552 

10 
4 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
38 

0 
12 

0 

0 
0 
1 
0 
0 
0 
19 

0 
2 

0 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
2 

Total  

125 

75 
595 

0 

17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
36 
855 

Four different rates of the monthly allowance are provided for (2019 figures): 
– 
– 

rate 1: work involving two shifts, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 429.05; 
rate 2:  work  involving  two  shifts,  including  nights,  weekends  and  public  holidays: 
EUR 647.59; 
rate 3: 24 hours a day, excluding weekends and public holidays: EUR 708.05; 
rate 4: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: EUR 965.31. 

– 
– 

4.2. 

Number of beneficiaries per rate  

Rate 1 

429.05 

Rate 2 

647.59 

Rate 3 

Rate 4 

708.05 

Total 

Institution 

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

965.31 
103 

22 

30 

50 
264 
0 
17 
0 
0 
0 
0 
9 
443 

125 

75 
595 
0 
17 
3 
4 
0 
0 
36 
855 

8 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
8 

0 

14 

25 
50 
0 
0 
3 
4 
0 
0 
27 
123 

0 

0 

8 

0 
281 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
281 

5 

 
 
4.3.  Number of beneficiaries per type of employment  

Institution 

JRC  Crisis/e

merg. 
coord.           

ICT  Security  Switchbo
ard/Recep
tion 

CFSP
/  
ESDP 

Tech. 
Inst. 

Ind. 
Action  

TOTAL 

Commission 

30 

16 

14 

65 

0 

- of which 
JRC: 

Council 

Parliament 
Court of 
Justice 
Court of 
Auditors 

EESC 

CoR 

EDPS 

Ombudsman 

EEAS 

Total 

30 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

30 

16 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

14 

28 

75 

545 

0 

17 

3 

4 

0 

0 

13 

722 

0 

50 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

50 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

9 

9 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

30 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

125 

75 

595 

0 

17 

3 

4 

0 

0 

36 

855 

5. 

SERVICES CONCERNED AND REASONS 

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

The  Commission  is  still  the  only  institution  that  pays  allowances  for  particularly  arduous 
working conditions, at the JRC, the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels (OIB) 
and, since 2018, for the nuclear inspectors at DG ENER. 

5.1. 

Reasons for standby duty 

Commission: In 2019, the Commission paid allowances for standby duty to 410 members of 
its staff, representing a slight decrease compared to 2018 (416 beneficiaries). 

There  was  an  increase  in  the  information  communication  and  technology  (ICT)  services 
department (+16). This increase is due to a larger number of beneficiaries (103 compared to 
89 in 2018) forming part of the 23 existing standby services within DG DIGIT. By contrast, 
there has been  a slight  decrease in  the technical  installation services over  the last few  years 
(abolition of standby services at the Publications Office, fewer beneficiaries in OIB/OIL). The 

6 

 
 
  
  
 
 
 
same trend can be observed in the area of crisis/emergency coordination (-9). 
About 37% (151) of the beneficiaries work at one of the research centres. In most cases at the 
JRC,  standby  duty  is  carried  out  at  home,  with  the  exception  of  Ispra,  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 Commission’s other Directorates-General, there was a slight decrease in the number of 
beneficiaries (54 in 2018, 47 in 2019) in DG ECHO (MS 24/7), following an increase (+5) in 
2018. For the other services, there was little change compared to 2018.  

Council:  The  Council  paid  allowances  for  standby  duty  to  85  members  of  its  staff  in  2019 
(77 in 2018).  

Four  services  have  been  set  up  to  cover  the  following  areas:  (1)  Information  and 
Communication Technologies (ICT), 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  the  staff  of  the  General  Secretariat  of  the  Council  and  the  activities  of  the 
Council  and  the  European  Council,  and  to  provide  24/7  support  to  security  officers  on 
mission,  (3) 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 2019, standby duty was performed exclusively at home. 
This upward trend can be explained by a slight increase in the number of beneficiaries in the 
existing  services  on  the  one  hand,  and  by  the  creation  of  a  new  service  in  unit  ORG.5 
‘Information Security’ on the other.   

Court  of  Auditors:  In  2019,  the  monthly  planning  of  the  security  and  safety  department 
includes standby duties at home for 17 staff members, the same as in 2018. They ensure the 
safety of buildings and their occupants round the clock throughout the year. 

EEAS:  In  2019,  the  EEAS  paid  allowances  for  standby  duty  to  33  members  of  its  staff 
(29 staff  in  2018).  The  creation  of  a  new  service  in  unit  SG  AFF  GEN  6  ‘Strategic 
communication’  explains  this  increase.  The  standby  services  cover  three  areas  of  work: 
(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 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 2019, the Court of Justice paid allowances for standby services at home 
to 28 members of its staff (27 in 2018). 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:  There is  a joint  standby service within  the security  service  at  the CoR  and the 
EESC to  ensure that security staff  can be  reached and are ready to  react  at  all times should 

7 

 
 
  
  
incidents requiring action arise when the institution is closed. In 2019, the standby service at 
home concerned 4 CoR staff (the same as in 2018) and 3 EESC staff (2 in 2018). 

5.2. 

Reasons for using the allowance for particularly arduous working conditions 

Commission:  The  Commission  is  still  the  only  institution  to  have  used  this  possibility  in 
2019:  the  Office  for  Infrastructure  and  Logistics  in  Brussels  (OIB)  for  the  reproduction 
service,  the  Joint  Research  Centre  and  DG  ENER  for  inspections  of  installations  at  nuclear 
sites, for a total of 216 beneficiaries in 2019 (209 in 2018).   

In 2019, the total number of hours worked under particularly arduous conditions was broken 
down as follows: 
  64 889.11 hours  (65 808.19  in  2018)  relating  to  individual  protection  (for  example,  the 

wearing of particularly uncomfortable protective clothing); 

  115 973.35  hours  (117 127.13 in  2018)  relating  to  the  place  of  work  (for  example,  high 

noise level, dangerous sites); 

  12 162.74  hours  (11 539.68 in  2018)  relating  to  the  nature  of  the  work  (for  example, 

handling of corrosive substances); 

  8 hours (26.20 in 2018) relating to the combination of personal protection and places of 
work  (nuclear  inspectors:  high  noise  level,  protective  clothing  with  self-contained 
breathing apparatus). 

5.3. 

Reasons for shift work 

Commission: Within the Commission, the JRC (for reasons relating to the nature of the tasks) 
and  DG  HR  (safety  and  security  department)  made  the  greatest  use  of  this  type  of  work 
organisation (30 and 57 persons respectively in 2019).  

In  2019  shift  work  was  performed  in  the  other  Directorates-General  (operating  budget)  by 
38 persons in the following areas: 

– 
– 
– 

Security and prevention: 8 (OIL); 
Information and Communication Technologies: 14 (DG COMM); 
Assistance to Member States: 16 (DG ECHO). 

The  shift  work  arrangement  at  DG  COMM  prepares  press  reviews  for  the  President,  the 
College and the Spokesperson’s Service. 

The around-the-clock service in the Monitoring and Information Centre at DG ECHO assists 
Member States and the Commission during disasters. 

Rates 1, 3 and 4 (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  prevention  and  for  the  safety  and  security  of  buildings  and 
persons in the two Council buildings. 

The number of beneficiaries remained stable (75 in 2019 as in 2018). 

8 

 
 
 
European Parliament: In 2019, 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  and  the  Jean  Monnet  House  (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). The number of beneficiaries remained almost stable with 595 beneficiaries in 2019 (603 in 
2018). 

In  2019,  the  Parliament  reported  a  sharp  decrease  in  the  number  of  people  receiving  the 
rate 1 allowance but an increase in the number of beneficiaries of the rate 2 and 4 allowances, 
which led to a significant increase in the budget used.  

Court of Auditors: In 2019, the only service reported by the Court of Auditors was shift work 
put in place in unit RH 2 ‘General services’. It is a continuous 24-hour service (rate 4) with 
17 beneficiaries (19 in 2018). Shift work in the telephone service/reception domain reported 
in 2018 (2 beneficiaries) was abolished. 

EEAS:  In  2019,  the  EEAS  paid  36  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: A joint shift work service is operating at the CoR and at the EESC to meet the 
need  for  continuous  presence  in  the  security  service.  The  CoR  pays  allowances  to 
4 beneficiaries (rate 1) and the EESC to 3 beneficiaries (rate 1). 

9 

 
 
6. 

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

Institution 

Shift work 

Standby duty 

Arduous 
working 
conditions 

Total 

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

1 114 753.93 

1 565 038.22 

650 195.23 

3 329 987.38 

216 008.78 

634 304.88 

616 763.55 

1 467 077.21 

645 516.00 
5 581 878.31 
0 
192 198.69 
12 753.76 
20 392.56 
0 
0 
249 700.00 
7 817 193.25 

258 689.00 
0 
67 265.00 
12 314.87 
6 958.64 
12 718.72 
0 
0 
101 874.00 
2 024 858.45 

0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 
650 195.23 

904 205.00 
5 581 878.31 
67 265.00 
204 513.56 
19 712.40 
33 111.28 
0 
0 
351 574.00 
10 492 246.93 

The  amount  spent  on  the  three  allowances  in  all  the  European  Institutions  stood  at 
EUR 10 492 246.93 in 2019 (EUR 9 378 337.37 in 2018).  

10