This article covers the topic of salary for Secretaries and Clerks in Function Group AST/SC 2 in the European Commission. The information about AST/SC2 salary also directly applies to staff of the European Parliament, European Council, EU agencies and all other EU institutions.
Basic salary
The amount of basic salary depends on which grade (1-6) and step in each grade (1-5) the staff member finds himself/herself in. The monthly ‘basic salary’ for Secretaries and Clerks in Function Group AST/SC 2 in the European Commission ranges from EUR 3106 for step I to EUR 3514 for step 5.
Complete remuneration package
Knowing the monthly ‘basic salary’ does not tell you much about your final take-home pay and the full remuneration package. There are two reasons for this.
Firstly, the basic salary can make up anything between ~85% and 130% or more of your total remuneration package depending on whether you are entitled to the various allowances. This is especially so if you are an expat or/and have children.
Secondly, the country you are employed in has a significant impact on your total salary due to the European Commission ‘Correction Coefficient‘. Brussels is used as reference, so if you work for EU institutions in Belgium, you get 100% of your salary and allowances. However, if you work for an EU agency in Scandinavia, your salary and allowances will upped by 18-31% to compensate for higher living costs. Conversely, if you will work for the EU in Bulgaria, you will get only 55% of what your Brussels colleague gets due to what Eurostat considers are lower living costs. More on the impact of the Correction Coefficient below.
Secretaries and Clerks’ remuneration by family and residence status
Below is a sample calculation of an AST/SC2 take-home pay with allowances for four common scenarios for a person employed as ‘Secretary and Clerk’ in Brussels, Belgium.
| Situation 1 | Situation 2 | Situation 3 | Situation 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Belgian national with no children | Married Belgian national with two children | Single non-Belgian national (expat) with no children | Married non-Belgian national (expat) with two children |
| SECRETARIES AND CLERKS AST/SC2 |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Pay | 3106 | 3106 | 3106 | 3106 |
| Household allowance | 0 | 258 | 0 | 258 |
| Dependent child allowance | 0 | 858 | 0 | 858 |
| Expatriation allowance | 0 | 0 | 668 | 668 |
| Pension contribution | -309 | -309 | -309 | -309 |
| Sickness insurance contribution | -59 | -59 | -59 | -59 |
| Accident insurance contribution | -3 | -3 | -3 | -3 |
| Tax | -24 | -24 | -24 | -24 |
| Special levy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL REMUNERATION | 2711 | 3827 | 3379 | 4495 |
N.B. Please treat the above values only as indicative, because only your EU institution can do a precise calculation based on your individual circumstances and the full set of EU rules.
On top of the above, children would either be guaranteed a place in the European School, or a single Education Allowance per child. The expat family would also get an annual travel grant for each family member, the amount of which depends on distance between Brussels and your home city (as an example, an Italian family from Rome would get around 1000 EUR per family member).
European Commission 2022 salary scale for Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC
| Grades | Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 | Step 4 | Step 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 5 090,25 | 5 304,16 | 5 527,04 | 5 680,79 | 5 759,29 |
| 5 | 4 498,93 | 4 687,98 | 4 885,67 | 5 020,88 | 5 090,25 |
| 4 | 3 976,31 | 4 143,39 | 4 317,51 | 4 437,63 | 4 498,93 |
| 3 | 3 514,38 | 3 662,06 | 3 815,97 | 3 922,11 | 3 976,31 |
| 2 | 3 106,12 | 3 236,66 | 3 372,68 | 3 466,50 | 3 514,38 |
| 1 | 2 745,30 | 2 860,67 | 2 980,88 | 3 063,79 | 3 106,12 |
Impact of Correction Coefficient on AST/SC2 basic pay
The below table shows you the actual Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC2 basic pay according to the location of your institution. This site has a dedicated article about the Correction Coefficient if you want to find out more.
| EU location | EU institution | Correction Coefficient | Adjusted basic salary in EUR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | EMA | 111.4 | 3460 |
| Barcelona, Spain | F4E | 96.3 | 2991 |
| Berlin, Germany | EU Delegation | 101.4 | 3149 |
| Bilbao, Spain | EU-OSHA | 96.3 | 2991 |
| Bratislava, Slovakia | ELA | 79.9 | 2482 |
| Brussels, Belgium | European Commission, European Parliament, European Council, EDA, SRB | 100 | 3106 |
| Bucharest, Romania | ECITRCC | 68.5 | 2128 |
| Budapest, Hungary | CEPOL, EIT | 76.1 | 2364 |
| Cologne, Germany | EASA | 96.9 | 3010 |
| Copenhagen, Denmark | EEA | 134.2 | 4168 |
| Dublin, Ireland | EUROFOUND | 133.6 | 4150 |
| Frankfurt am Main, Germany | ECB, EIOPA | 96.9 | 3010 |
| Hague, Netherlands | Eurojust, Europol | 111.4 | 3460 |
| Helsinki, Finland | ECHA | 118.6 | 3684 |
| Heraklion, Greece | ENISA | 85.2 | 2646 |
| Karlsruhe, Germany | JRC | 96.9 | 3010 |
| Lefkosia, Cyprus | EU Delegation | 82.2 | 2553 |
| Lisbon, Portugal | EMSA, EMCDDA | 91.4 | 2839 |
| Ljubljana, Slovenia | ACER | 84.9 | 2637 |
| Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | European Commission, Eurostat, CDT, Court of Auditors | 100 | 3106 |
| Madrid, Spain | EU Delegation | 96.3 | 2991 |
| Munich, Germany | n/a | 113.4 | 3522 |
| Parma, Italy | EFSA | 91.2 | 2833 |
| Paris, France | EBA, ESMA | 119.9 | 3724 |
| Prague, Czechia | EGSA | 88.1 | 2736 |
| Riga, Latvia | BEREC | 80 | 2485 |
| Rome, Italy | EU Delegation | 95.2 | 2957 |
| Sofia, Bulgaria | EU Delegation | 61.7 | 1916 |
| Stockholm, Sweden | ECDC | 130.3 | 4047 |
| Tallinn, Estonia | eu-LISA | 86.3 | 2680 |
| Thessaloniki, Greece | CEDEFOP | 85.2 | 2646 |
| Turin, Italy | ETF | 91.2 | 2833 |
| Valletta, Malta | EUAA | 94 | 2920 |
| Varese, Italy | n/a | 91.2 | 2833 |
| Valenciennes and Lille, France | ERA | 119.9 | 3724 |
| Vienna, Austria | FRA | 109.6 | 3404 |
| Vigo, Spain | EFCA | 96.3 | 2991 |
| Vilnius, Lithuania | EIGE | 80.1 | 2488 |
| Warsaw, Poland | Frontex | 70.6 | 2193 |
| Zagreb, Croatia | EU Delegation | 78.3 | 2432 |
Take into account that your allowances will also be adjusted by the Correction Coefficient. If you will work not in Brussels, but in another EU location, you should multiply the grand total values in the “scenarios table” above with the appropriate Correction Coefficient value to get an approximate figure of your take-home pay.
Allowances and other benefits for EU institutions staff
Several allowances and other benefits can quite significantly boost an EU official’s income. This largely depends on whether the person is an expat and has a spouse and/or children. When considering a job at an EU institution, people too often do not take these benefits into account. Important – these benefits are available to Administrators in grades AD 5-16, Assistants in grades AST 1-11, Secretaries and Clerks in grades AST/SC 1-6, and Contract Agents in grades FG I-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
- 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, up to EUR 2350
RELATED ARTICLES ON SECRETARIES AND CLERKS’ SALARIES:
* Salary of Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC 1
* Salary of Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC 3
* Salary of Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC 4
* Salary of Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC 5
* Salary of Secretaries and Clerks AST/SC 6
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This article is based on the European Commission Staff Regulations and other publicly available information such as EU institutions’ vacancy announcements.
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5 responses to “Salary of Secretaries and Clerks in Function Group AST/SC 2”
Hi, searching information online it seems to me that the majority of people into AST-SC positions are overqualified and have always have at least a college degree and often a phd. Is this a wrong impression of mine? I would like to know how difficult is the job for AST-SC and how much is it like that passing the EPSO test will tell me that I really am a good fit for the job?
I mean, I see that the test itself is really tough and competitive, and it requires a good deal of time and effort to prepare; I don’t have a college degree, and this should not be an impediment in theory, also because when I confronted myself at work with others with a more advanced education, I have no impediments to acquire the knowledge I need to do my job, but I’m still think that a more advanced education and culture is an advantage in general terms; I’ve always been interested in the EU project, but above all what get me attracted to the idea of leaving my Country, where I have just started a stable job in public administration, with a decent salary compared to the workweek hours (36h a week instead of the canonical 40h), the possibility of starting college again and get a degree, and all the comfort of living in your home, is the salary that is waaaaaaay more high than my actual salary, for the same level of education required. That salary is so yummy that I could also consider to drop the idea of restart college, if the job would require me an effort that I could not reonciliate with studying outside work to advance my education (which for me is not only a matter of money and career).
But the fact is: what if after all the time and effort required to pass the epso test and getting the job, then someone see that he is not a good fit for the real job and that the environment or the tasks are “too much” for him (let’s say difficult/high paced/competitive or whatever)? The only information I find are about “how to get in” but I don’t know someone already in there to tell me how many people passing are dissatisfied or maybe realize that they are not enough for the job, that as I understand is really hard compared to the average job out there?
Hi!
Regarding actual experience “from the field” I would not hesitate and write to a number of people in this position on LinkedIn. I’m certain that at least some will respond and give an honest reply.
Regarding preparation for the test, once you pass, you are eligible for all AST/SC positions. Hence, this can be viewed as a long-term investment. If you are really motivated, you will eventually get a job. However, it can take years in some cases.
Also – consider EU agencies. They usually organize their own selection process. The salary is roughly the same as for the EU institutions in Brussels for the same grade. The only thing affecting it is the Correction Coefficient (the blog has an article about this), so choose a country where the coefficient is sufficiently high.
Check if there’s an EU agency in your own country. You might get an EU job without moving. However, you won’t get the expat allowance in this case.
Hi,
as stipulated in the Notice of Competition EPSO/AST-SC/10/20 – SC 2 the minimum prof experience required is 7 years. However generally it’s 4 years for SC 2 grade.
What is applicable for the recruitment of successful candidates from the reserve list? DG Personnel will require the same as it was for the EPSO competition or the basic, general 4 years experience ?
Hi! I have no experience with the AST/SC positions as this is something that mostly only COM practices. I hope another reader can help.
Are you considering to write a question to the HR email usually provided in the selection notice?
Ben, thank you for the reply.
In the EPSO selection notice(the one where they say that you are the successful candidate placed on the reserve list) is only a link to the general EPSO contact form.
The HR in the Directorate where I have been selected for recruitment can’t answer this question. And DG Personnel hasn’t yet contacted me.
Well, probably I have to wait unless DG Personnel contacts me..
I just don’t understand why there is this difference in experience ?