A revised version of Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev.5), entitled "Financial benefits on taking up appointment and on termination of contract", has been approved by the Director-General and is available via the following link.
This version cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 30 (Rev.4), entitled " Financial benefits on taking up appointment and on termination of contract”, dated October 2022.
The amendments made concern the following areas:
Arrival and departure travel
As of 1 January 2025, all members of the personnel entitled to the payment of arrival and departure travel expenses will receive a lump-sum payment.
The aim of introducing lump sums for everyone is to reflect the evolution of how travel is organised: nowadays, most members of the personnel arrange their arrival and departure travel themselves. The use of lump sums will enhance flexibility for those recruited by providing them with transparency and clarity about the amount they will receive and will ensure equal treatment for all categories of personnel entitled to travel reimbursement. Moreover, it will allow administrative simplification.
For employed members of the personnel, the real costs incurred may be reimbursed in exceptional circumstances, where the lump sum is not sufficient (§18). In such cases, approval must be requested from the Head of the HR department and the request must be submitted, if possible, at least 21 calendar days before travel.
Based on a comparison of the lump sums per country and the real-cost reimbursements paid over the last two years, it is expected that some 1% of travellers each year may wish to invoke this clause.
The lump sums and a brief explanation of how they are established will be published in the Admin
e-guide.
Single-quotation removal procedure
A single-quotation procedure for removals has been introduced in the interests of administrative simplification. This new procedure provides the possibility for staff members to submit only one quotation, provided that it remains below a ceiling (which depends on the country of origin or destination, as applicable, and on the family situation).
The ceilings are based on those of comparable organisations and will be reviewed every three years, or earlier if deemed necessary. Analysis of past removals shows that about 90% of removals are likely to fall within the one-quotation procedure.
The three-quotation procedure will remain in place to cover exceptional cases.
Reinstallation indemnity for staff members appointed before 2007
In order to benefit from the reinstallation indemnity, staff members appointed before 2007 must take up residence outside a 20 km radius of their former place of residence and of the duty station. In the previous version, the Circular only addressed the first criterion; this oversight is now corrected.
Recovery of payment of the installation indemnity in the event of resignation of staff members and graduates
As of 1 January 2025, staff members are required to reimburse the installation indemnity if they resign within the first six months and on a pro-rata basis, according to the number of months of service completed. In the previous version of the circular, reimbursement of the full indemnity was required in case of resignation during the first year, irrespective of the number of months of service completed. The rationale behind this change is to acknowledge the additional costs linked to integration in the local area that cannot be recovered upon departure.
Graduates will no longer be required to pay back the installation indemnity upon resignation.
Textual clarifications
Furthermore, two textual clarifications have been made. The first concerns the definition of “place of residence” on taking up appointment (§ 3.1a) and the second makes claims for benefits subject to the provision of “evidence”, rather than “supporting documents” (§40b).
The revised circular has entered into force on 1 January 2025.