Archives: Glossary

OLAF, or the European Anti-Fraud Office, is an integral institution of the European Union, established to protect the EU’s financial interests by combating fraud, corruption, and any illegal activities affecting the EU budget. OLAF fulfills this role by conducting administrative investigations into cases of fraud, corruption, and serious misconduct within the EU institutions and bodies,…

PMO or the Paymaster Office is the European Commission’s Department for Administration and Payment of Individual Entitlements. PMO is responsible for the calculation and record keeping of the financial entitlements of staff of the European Commission and most other EU institutions.

Officials and other staff of the European Commission and other EU institutions are entitled to an EU pension after at least 10 years of service during their working life.

EU official on an indefinite contract in grades of Administrator, Assistant, and Secretaries and clerks. Indefinite contracts can be attained in several ways: (a) through an EPSO competition for AD grades (Administrators), AST grades (Assistants), and AST/SC (Secretaries and clerks) positions, (b) after two contract prolongations that entitle an EU employee to an indefinite contract.

A Personal Development Plan (PDP) is a strategic tool employed within the European Union (EU) institutions to help employees identify their professional goals, strengths, and areas for improvement. It serves as a structured framework that guides individuals in mapping out their career objectives and the competencies they need to develop to achieve these goals. The…

The term ‘place of employment’ means the location where an employee of an EU institution is expected to perform his duties according to the employment contract. According to article 20 of the Staff Regulations, an official is expected to live in a location that is compatible with the “proper performance of his duties”. some EU…

The term ‘place of origin’ means the declared location from which an employee of an EU institution formally is relocating to her/his ‘place of employment’. The ‘place of origin’ is used for calculating an official’s entitlement to the annual travel grant (amount depends on the distance between the declared ‘place of origin’ and ‘place of…

Employees of EU institutions with children aged below 5 are paid the ‘pre-school allowance’, which is a type of the Education allowance. The nominal pre-school allowance amounts is EUR 102,18 per month, subject to the Correction coefficient.

Psychometric Tests in the context of European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) competitions are standardized assessment tools used to measure candidates’ cognitive abilities, competencies, and personality traits as part of the selection process for jobs within EU institutions. These tests are designed to objectively evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a particular role based on the required…

The term ‘reasonable accommodation’ refers to any measure to accommodate a disabled person during the selection process or the actual job at an EU institution. It entails any adaptive measure that is considered as not being a disproportionate burden on the employer. The interpretation of ‘reasonable accommodation’ in EU institutions is quite broad and can…

Reclassification of EU institutions’ staff refers to the administrative process through which the grade or step of an EU staff member is increased. Reclassification is the de facto promotion of EU institutions’ staff. This process is typically done as part of the annual appraisal exercise and is based on an assessment of the individual’s performance,…

The compensation of ‘Removal expenses’ is a benefit for staff of EU institutions who had to relocate at the start and/or end of employment at an EU institution. The ‘removal expenses’ amount includes the costs of moving furniture and personal effects, but also insurance against ordinary risks, such as damage during transportation, theft, and fire.