This article covers just the salary and related benefits of the Frontex Basic Level European Border and Coast Guards. If you want to get a broader overview, read this article about the European Border and Coast Guard Standing Corps.
The ‘full salary package’ of the Intermediate Level Frontex border guard greatly depends on whether you are a foreigner in Poland and whether you have dependents. Read below on how this is calculated.
* Polish residents without children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 2589.
* Foreigners without children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 3201.
* Foreigners with children can expect a monthly paycheck of EUR 3763.
Basic salary and benefits
Remember that the ‘basic salary’ forms only approximately 50-60% of the total remuneration package, plus, there are significant other benefits of employment like health insurance and pension rights.
| Type of benefit | Amount in EUR |
|---|---|
| Basic salary (after deductions) | FG IV, step 13 = EUR 2004 FG IV, step 14 = EUR 2169 FG IV, step 16 = EUR 2710 |
| Household allowances | FG IV, step 13 = EUR 176 FG IV, step 14 = EUR 182 FG IV, step 16 = EUR 198 |
| Expatriation allowance | FG IV, step 13 = EUR 382 – 543 FG IV, step 14 = EUR 430 – 594 FG IV, step 16 = EUR 550 – 717 |
| Foreign residence allowance | FG IV, step 13 = EUR 95 – 135 FG IV, step 14 = EUR 107 – 148 FG IV, step 16 = EUR 137 – 179 |
| Dependent child allowances for each child | EUR 281 |
| Preschool allowance | EUR 69 |
| Education allowance | EUR 382 |
| Shift allowance | EUR 420 – 946 |
| Standby duty allowance | EUR 2 per hour during weekdayEUR 4 EUR per hour during weekends / public holidays |
A sample calculation
The below table and text is an overview of the full-benefits package of a successful candidate in three scenarios:
1) Polish resident with no children
2) Foreigner in Poland with no children
3) Foreigner in Poland with 2 children
If you are a Polish citizen or have resided in Poland for the past five years, you will not receive the Household, Expatriation and Foreign residence allowances. However, you can count on the rest of the benefits.
| Type of benefit | Polish resident, no children | Non-Polish resident, no children | Non-Polish resident, 2 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic salary (after deductions) | EUR 2169 | EUR 2169 | EUR 2169 |
| Household allowance | EUR 0 | EUR 182 | EUR 182 |
| Expatriation allowance | EUR 0 | EUR 430 | EUR 430 |
| Foreign residence allowance | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Dependent child allowances for each child | EUR 0 | EUR 0 | EUR 281 x 2 = EUR 562 |
| Preschool allowance | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Education allowance (up to) | EUR 382 x 2 = EUR 764 (not applicable if children attend European School), not included in the final calculation | n/a | EUR 382 x 2 = EUR 764 (not applicable if children attend European School), not included in the final calculation |
| Shift allowance | EUR 420+ | EUR 420+ | EUR 420+ |
| Standby duty allowance | Depends on duties | Depends on duties | Depends on duties |
| TOTAL: | At least EUR 2589 | At least EUR 3201 | At least EUR 3763 (not counting Education allowance) |
Salary calculation, Frontex Border Guard – Basic Level FGIV
Allowances and other benefits for employees of the European Commission and other EU institutions
Several allowances and other benefits can boost your income by as much as 100% depending whether you are an expat and have a spouse and children. When considering a job at an EU institution, people too seldom take these benefits into account. Important – these benefits are available to both temporary agents (AD 5-16 and AST 1-11) and contract agents (FG I to FG IV).
- Travel costs on taking up duties
- Daily subsistence allowance (during probation period)
- Installation allowance and coverage of removal costs (one-time payments)
- Expatriation allowance or Foreign Residence allowance
- Household allowance
- Dependent child allowance
- European School enrollment for children or Education allowance if there is no local EU school
- Healthcare costs reimbursement to a level of 80-85% through the EU’s Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) for the employee and any direct family members and dependents. 100% reimbursement of costs in case of a serious illness
- Accident insurance
- Annual travel compensation. If your institution is in Brussels, for a 4-person family from Rome this will amount to EUR 2781. For a single person the amount will be EUR 677.
- Birth grant
- Parental leave
- Unemployment allowance
- Removal expenses when leaving your home country and again when leaving your EU institution
- EU pension, survivors and orphan’s pensions, invalidity allowance
- Lump sum payments in case of permanent invalidity or death
- Lump sum funeral expenses, around EUR 2350
Contract duration and probation period
Contract type. Under the ‘Basic Level’, candidates are offered an initial contract of 5 years that can be prolonged once to another 5 years. This means that after 10 years in one post the officer’s contract will run out. If you will want to stay with Frontex, you will have to get another post before the 10-year deadline.
This arrangement is more beneficial that what the “regular” contract agents get at EU institutions. The default arrangement is to serve 3 + 3 years before you have to look for another job.
There is a probation period of nine months. It is unclear from the Frontex vacancy announcement when the probation period is started – 1st day of training of 1st day of assuming duties with the agency.
Vacancy announcement
You can download the full Frontex Border Guard 2019 vacancy announcement here. It should be very similar to all the upcoming rounds of selections of the European Border and Coast Guard Officers.
Frontex video about Standing Corps
What questions or suggestions do you have for this article? Please share in a comment below and let’s make this resource better for you and other readers!
2 responses to “Salary and benefits – Frontex Border Guard Officer, BASIC Level (FG IV)”
Hi. Thank you very much for this explication, we’ll done because it’s clear and short. Just a doubt: For the education allowance, the children must move abroad at the same country as for the contract agent, in this case, Poland? And what’s the limit of age for this allowance? 18? Or until the children conclude his full education? (University, for example). Thank you for your kindness.
Hi! I’ve just created a post about the Education allowance that should answer all of your questions.
If any questions remain, please let me know!
In short, Frontex staff can enroll their kids in the European School in Warsaw. If your children remain at home, you are entitled to the Education allowance (single limit). The education allowance can also still be received while attending university up until the end of 26.