III.1 Conditions of recruitment
III.2 Conditions of employment
Effect of sickness, maternity/paternity
Part IV: Conference interpreters
Part V: Council of Europe Duty Stations located outside of France
Part VI: Certificate of employment
Part VII: Notice figuring in all contracts
Part VIII: Transitional and final provisions
The Secretary General of the Council of Europe,
HAVING REGARD to the Council of Europe Staff Regulations adopted by Resolution Res(2021)6 of the Committee of Ministers on 22 September 2021 at their 1412th meeting, as amended,
CONSIDERING that rules should be laid down concerning the conditions of recruitment and employment of temporary staff members from 1 January 2023,
HAVING CONSULTED the Staff Committee in accordance with Article 5 of the Regulations on Staff Participation (Appendix I to the Staff Regulations adopted by Resolution Res(81)20 of the Committee of Ministers on 25 September 1981 and subsequently revised on numerous occasions),
DECIDES:
1. A temporary member of staff is any person who
¡ is engaged for a period of time that does not exceed the limits laid down in Articles 6, 7 and 8 below,
¡ is under the authority of the Secretary General and
¡ provides temporary services to the Organisation on the basis of a contract carrying remuneration on either a monthly basis (hereafter “M contract”) or a daily basis (hereafter “J contract”).
2.1. The Code of Conduct, the Policy on Respect and Dignity in the Council of Europe, Speak Up: Council of Europe Policy on reporting wrongdoing and protection from retaliation and the following provisions of the Staff Regulations and of the Staff Rules, as in force from 1 January 2023, shall apply to temporary members of staff:
¡ Article 1 of the Staff Regulations on Duties, Obligations and Privileges, with the exception of Articles 1.1 and 1.2, and the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Article 2 of the Staff Regulations on Rights and the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Article 13 of the Staff Regulations on Staff Participation and the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Article 4.2 of the Staff Regulations on Entry into Service and Articles 410, 420 and 430 of the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Articles 11.1.3 and 11.2 of the Staff Regulations on Expenses borne by the Organisation and Articles 1130 and 1140 of the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Articles 7.5 and 7.6 of the Staff Regulations on Salaries and Allowances, and Article 7110 of the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Articles 8.1, 8.2 and 8.6 of the Staff Regulations on Working hours and leave, and the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Articles 5.1 and 5.2 of the Staff Regulations on Career Development and Article 510 and 520 of the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Article 14 of the Staff Regulations on Grievance Procedures and the corresponding Staff Rule;
¡ Article 12 of the Staff Regulations on Discipline, with the exception of Articles 12.1.3 and 12.1.4, and the corresponding Staff Rule.
2.2. The following privileges and immunities provided for in Article 18 of the General Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Council of Europe, referred to in Article 1.13 of the Staff Regulations, shall be granted to temporary members of staff in the interests of the Council:
¡ immunity from legal process in respect of words spoken or written and all acts performed by them in carrying out their tasks and duties within the limit of their authority (Article 18.a);
¡ exemption from taxation on salaries (Article 18.b);
¡ exemption from aliens’ registration (Article 18.c) and
¡ exchange and repatriation facilities (Article 18.d and e), except in the case of temporary members of staff who are nationals of the country in which they carry out their duties and who, before taking up their duties, were ordinarily resident in that country.
3.1. Temporary contracts shall be concluded for specified periods of time.
3.2. They shall terminate without prior notice on the date stipulated therein or on the last day of the month in which the staff member reaches the upper age limit for employment of 65 years.
3.3. They may be renewed in accordance with the conditions laid down in this Rule, but renewal shall not confer entitlement to further renewal or to conversion into another type of contract.
4.1. The contracts of temporary members of staff may also be terminated:
a. without prior notice, where the termination has been imposed as a disciplinary measure in the manner prescribed by the provisions of Article 12 of the Staff Regulations on discipline and the corresponding Staff Rule;
b. without prior notice, if they knowingly made false statements in their application for employment or at the time of their engagement;
c. with the requisite notice and after a written warning, for manifest unsuitability or unsatisfactory work on their part; no written warning shall be issued before the temporary staff members concerned have been heard by the Director of Human Resources.
4.2. In the cases referred to in paragraph 4.1 b. and c. above the decision to terminate a contract, which shall be accompanied by reasons, shall be taken after the temporary member of staff concerned has been heard by the Director of Human Resources and given an opportunity to consult his or her file. At their meeting with the Director of Human Resources, the staff members concerned may be assisted by a person of their own choice; the Director of Human Resources shall have the right to ask a person of his or her choice to attend the meeting.
6. J contracts shall be concluded for periods of less than three weeks. They may not total more than 100 working days in any calendar year.
7. M contracts shall be concluded for periods of one or more months and may be renewed. The cumulative duration of M contracts shall not exceed a total of 12 months over the entire career of the temporary staff member.
8. A temporary staff member may be engaged on either a J or M contract within a calendar year. Alternating between J and M contracts within a calendar year shall not be allowed.
9. Temporary contracts shall specify the amount of remuneration and their duration as well as their holders’ duties in accordance with the list of standard duties appearing in Appendix I and all other conditions of employment.
10. The remuneration of temporary members of staff shall be calculated by reference to the first step of the basic salary for the appropriate grade on the lists appearing in Appendix I.
11. In the case of temporary staff translators, the remuneration will take account of the temporary staff member’s qualifications and experience in accordance with Appendix I.
12. In the case of M contracts, the remuneration shall follow the development of the reference scale. Adjustments shall take place in the same conditions as for permanent staff. However, should there be any retroactive effect it may not extend beyond the financial year preceding the change in the reference scale.
13. The Director General of Administration may lay down special scales of remuneration for categories of J contract-holders whose duties cannot be assimilated to any of those listed in Appendix I, including session staff and staff engaged for the operation of the television studio.
14. In the case of J contracts, the remuneration shall be equal to 1/22nd of the reference salary and, unless the contract expressly provides otherwise, shall be payable only for days actually worked.
15. In the case of M contracts, the remuneration shall be equal to the monthly reference salary.
17. The above-mentioned forms of remuneration are fixed amounts. Subject to any exceptional provisions laid down by the Director General of Administration and specified in the contract, the remuneration shall be exclusive of all bonuses or allowances, including all payments for overtime. Compensation for overtime shall be secured through the overall adjustment of working hours, save in exceptional cases where the temporary staff member is required to work on Sundays and public holidays, in respect of which remuneration shall be paid at 1.5 times the daily rate.
18. In the case of J contracts, wherever possible, the working hours for the first and/or last day of the contract shall be so arranged that the temporary staff member may make the journey(s) during the contract period. However, where such arrangements prove impossible, temporary staff members residing more than 200 km from their duty station at the time of their recruitment shall receive in addition half-a-day’s remuneration for the outward journey and the same amount for the return journey.
19. A temporary staff member is considered as having been locally recruited if he or she was already at the place of the duty station or within a range of 100 km from that place, at the moment at which the contract offer was issued by the Council of Europe Directorate of Human Resources, irrespective of the reason for such presence (studies, training, former employment of whatever length, family or personal reasons) or its duration.
20.1. In the case of J contracts, a daily subsistence allowance shall be payable for each day’s presence at the duty station to temporary staff members who are not locally recruited.
20.2. In the case of temporary staff members residing more than 200 km from their duty station, one half of such allowance shall in addition be payable for the outward journey and also for the return journey if it is not stipulated in the contract that the temporary staff member may travel during the contract period.
20.3. Special arrangements may be provided for in the case of temporary staff members residing between 50 and 100 km of the place of their duty station if their presence is requested between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m.
20.4. This allowance shall be equal to 57.62% of the daily allowance payable to permanent staff. The daily allowance(s) for temporary staff shall be adjusted at the same intervals as the scales for permanent staff, without retroactive effect.
21. In the case of M contracts, the daily subsistence allowance shall be replaced by a monthly residence allowance representing 15 % of the remuneration for temporary staff members who are not recruited locally. The amount of this allowance shall be specified in the contract.
21a. The monthly residence allowance provided for in Article 21 is payable for a maximum period of six months.
22. Travel expenses for journeys from and back to the temporary staff member’s place of residence at the time of recruitment shall be borne by the Council of Europe, on the same conditions as those laid down in respect of permanent staff members, except where the temporary staff member uses a private car, in which case he or she shall be reimbursed on the basis of the second-class rail fare or the air fare. In any event, only travel expenses actually incurred shall be repayable.
23. Temporary members of staff shall arrange to travel as cheaply as possible and, wherever possible, shall take advantage of any reduced fares available (excursion fares, weekend fares, etc).
24. The term “travel expenses” denotes rail and air fares, airport charges and bus fares for journeys outside urban areas, to the exclusion of all other expenses (local public transport, taxis etc). Expenses incurred in switching from one means of transport to another or in travelling from the home address or the place of work to the railway station or airport and vice-versa shall be reimbursed on a lump-sum basis, whatever the means of transport used, within the limit of the fare by the appropriate public transport service.
25. The Council of Europe shall inform all temporary staff that their employment with the Council of Europe is not subject to any national unemployment insurance scheme or any similar private scheme.
26. The allowance in respect of dependent children, the indemnity for disabled child, the dependent child supplement and the supplements for disabled or severely disabled child shall be payable to holders of M contracts on the conditions laid down in the Staff Rules. Temporary members of staff shall not be entitled to the additional supplement for single parent families provided for in the Staff Rules.
27. Temporary staff members’ contributions to the different social insurance schemes described below shall be deducted from their salaries.
28. Holders of M and J contracts shall be affiliated to the French social security scheme and a supplementary pension scheme. Holders of M contracts shall also be affiliated to a compulsory supplementary insurance scheme which provides cover in respect of sickness, accident, maternity, death and invalidity.
29. The Directorate of Human Resources may decide to make affiliation to the social security scheme and the supplementary pension fund optional for temporary staff not resident in France or, in exceptional cases, resident in France, who provide satisfactory evidence that they are already adequately insured. If the latter express the wish not to be affiliated to the social security scheme, they shall be insured with a private insurance company against death and invalidity resulting from an accident occurring during their contract period and in respect of the cost of treatment occasioned by an accident or by sickness occurring during the same period.
30. Holders of M contracts shall be entitled to two-and-a-half working days’ leave with pay for every month of service. They must use up their leave entitlement before the final expiry of their contracts.
31. Holders of M contracts shall be entitled to special leave for the same periods as permanent staff, on the following grounds:
¡ birth or adoption of a child,
¡ death of a child,
¡ death of a spouse or partner,
¡ death of a parent, brother or sister.
32. Holders of M contracts shall be entitled to special leave to care for sick children under the same conditions as permanent staff. The entitlement shall be 0.5 days in respect of each month covered by the contract, up to a maximum of 3 days for every 6-month period.
[Deleted]
33. Unless otherwise stipulated in the contract, the first week’s work covered by a first contract shall constitute a trial period. If the term of the initial contract exceeds one month, the trial period shall be for one week in respect of each month covered by the contract, up to a maximum of one month. During this period the contract may be terminated by either party without prior notice.
34. The contract may be terminated by the Organisation without prior notice in the cases specified in Articles 4.1.a and 4.1.b above, and with one month’s notice for M contracts of more than one month in the cases specified in Article 4.1.c above. A temporary staff member may resign on giving one week’s notice for each month of his or her contract served, to a maximum of four weeks.
35. The conditions of employment of conference interpreters paid on a daily basis, who are for the duration of their contracts temporary staff members subject to the authority of the Secretary General, are governed by a special Rule.
36. The conditions of recruitment and employment of locally recruited staff members working in Council of Europe Duty Stations located outside of France are governed by a special Rule.
37. Temporary members of staff may apply for a certificate of employment stating the length of service and duties performed. They may also request that the certificate include an assessment of their ability and the quality of the work performed.
38. The following notice shall be inserted into every contract:
“IMPORTANT NOTICE
It is brought to your attention that
¡ this temporary contract will terminate without prior notice on the stipulated date;
¡ your employment with the Council of Europe is not subject to any national unemployment insurance scheme or any similar private scheme;
¡ any renewal of the contract will not confer entitlement to further renewal or to conversion into another type of contract. In particular, a temporary member of staff may be offered a fixed-term contract only if appointed after a recruitment procedure in accordance with the Staff Regulations and Staff Rules.”
39. This Rule was adopted on 15 December 2005, entered into force on 1 January 2006 and was revised with the effective date of 1 January 2023. It shall supersede Rule No. 1275 of 18 April 2007 on the application of certain internal legal instruments to temporary staff members of the Council of Europe.
40. For temporary members of staff whose contract start before 1 February 2023, who have already had one or more consecutive M contracts expiring on 31 December 2022 and who have benefited from the monthly residence allowance in relation to these contracts, the maximum duration of 6 months stipulated under Article 21a above shall be reduced by the number of months during which they have received the monthly residence allowance before 1 January 2023.
41. Temporary members of staff who were employed on a J or M contract between 1 January and 31 December 2022, and who have reached the age of 60 by 1 January 2023, may continue to be employed on renewable contracts with a maximum duration of 9 months per calendar year.
42. Temporary members of staff who were employed on a J or M contract between 1 January and 31 December 2022, who have reached the age of 55 by 1 January 2023 and who have been cumulatively employed by the Organisation for more than 10 years' under J and/or M contracts by that date, may continue to be employed on renewable temporary contracts for a maximum of 9 months per calendar year until 31 December 2026.
43. Notwithstanding the 12-month time limit stipulated under Article 7 above, temporary members of staff (a) who, because of their disability, qualify for the quota reserved in a member state for the employment of disabled persons (or would have qualified had they been that state’s national) and (b) who held an M contract with the Council of Europe in 2005 and (c) whose work is satisfactory may be offered renewable temporary contracts until the age of 65, provided that their work continues to be satisfactory and subject to availability of the funds required. Such contracts shall end not later than the end of the month in which the relevant temporary staff member reaches the age of 65. In order to benefit from this provision, temporary staff members must be certified as disabled by an officially recognised body in a member state.
Strasbourg, 30 December 2022
The Secretary General
(signed)
Marija Pejčinović Burić
APPENDIX I: LIST OF STANDARD DUTIES FOR TEMPORARY CONTRACTS
|
CODE |
REFERENCE GRADE |
DUTIES |
|
A |
C1 |
Novice driver, novice messenger, distributor, storehand and equivalent |
|
B |
C2 |
Guillotine operator, experienced messenger, duplicator operator, keyboard operator, usher, experienced driver and equivalent, assistant photographer |
|
C |
C3 |
Caretaker, chief usher |
|
D |
C4 |
Novice radio technician, specialist technical assistant, technician or equivalent |
|
E |
C5 |
Chief technician and equivalent |
|
F |
C6 |
Experienced radio technician, photographer |
|
G |
B1 |
Novice assistant and typist with the exception of seconded staff, junior clerk, documents auxiliary, press trainee, novice switchboard operator and equivalent; |
|
H |
B2 |
Experienced assistant and typist, clerk, experienced switchboard operator, novice proof-reader, library assistant, reader, receptionist and equivalent; |
|
I |
B3 |
Senior clerk, nurse, reader-proof-reader, chief receptionist, assistant laboratory technician, novice administrative assistant and equivalent |
|
I2 |
B3/3 |
Transcriber |
|
I3 |
B3 + ISB B3/4 |
Bilingual transcriber |
|
J |
B4 |
Administrative assistant and equivalent |
|
K |
B5 |
Principal administrative assistant and equivalent |
APPENDIX II: REMUNERATION OF TEMPORARY TRANSLATORS
|
Level |
Reference grade and step |
|
|
I |
Beginner |
L1/1 |
|
II |
500 days’ experience |
L2/1 |
|
III |
1800 days’ experience at level II or 2300 days in total |
L3/1 |
|
IV |
1000 days’ experience at level III (AITC grades RII and RIII) |
L3/8 |
When calculating the length of experience, account will be taken of employment with the Council of Europe as well as of certified periods of activity with other international organisations.