Standing Concertation Committee - Ordinary meeting on 25 June 2008
The main items discussed at the meetings of the Standing Concertation Committee on 25 June 2008 included:
Mutual Aid Fund
The committee took note of the annual report for 2007 by the chairman of the Mutual Aid Fund and approved contributions to the Fund’s 2008 budget from the Management and the Staff Association.
Results of 2008 MARS exercise and LHC achievement awards
The committee took note of the Head of HR Department’s presentation of the results of the 2008 MARS exercise and the distribution of LHC achievement awards. It was noted that these awards would be granted with effect from 1 October 2008 (see Bulletin 18&19). The results show agreement with the 2008 MARS guidelines (see Bulletin 10&11) for the advancement ceilings per career path, the number of awards for extraordinary service, as well as the distribution of steps for the recognition of merit as shown in the SCC of 27 February (see Bulletin 14&15).
Follow-up of Finance Committee and Council meetings
The committee took note of the information provided by S. Lettow, the Director for Finance and Human Resources. First of all S. Lettow recalled that the Delegates of the Member States asked Management and Staff Association to convey to all CERN staff their sincere appreciation for their efforts and commitment to the Organization. More directly related to SCC matters was the unanimous approval by Finance Committee and Council of the Management proposal concerning the changes to Chapter III of the Staff Rules and Regulations: "Working hours" as discussed in the SCC on 20 and 22 May (see Bulletin 26&27) and in TREF on 28 May. S. Lettow expressed his gratitude to all those involved who worked hard to get the text ready in a record time in order to ensure that LHC startup can take place in optimal conditions.
Exceptional carry-forward of annual leave for LHC completion
In response to the needs of some departments to accommodate the construction and commissioning of the LHC, the following exceptional carry-forward of annual leave at 30 September 2008 was agreed:
- subject to prior authorisation by department heads and on a case-by-case basis, staff may carry forward an extra 15 days’ annual leave at 30 September 2008; this means that a total of 45 days’ annual leave may be carried forward at 30 September 2008 plus a maximum of 22 days’ Short-term Saved leave – giving a total maximum carry-forward of 67 days’ annual and Short-term SLS at 30 September 2008;
- some staff members have already been granted an extra carry-forward of 10 days’ annual leave at 30 September 2008 and, for the staff concerned, the total maximum carry-forward above includes these 10 days;
- the extra days corresponding to this exceptional carry-forward must be taken during the leave period 1 October 2008-30 September 2009.
Administrative Circular No. 26 (Rev. 8) – Merit Recognition
The text of Administrative Circular No. 26 has been restructured to introduce the various steps of the MARS process in a more logical order, thus improving its readability. The possibility of rewarding merit outside of a normal MARS exercise, e.g. the LHC achievement awards, was introduced. The various steps of the practical implementation of the performance improvement procedure and their relation to the award of zero steps (see Bulletin 18&19) were clarified. As there are only a few minor textual changes remaining to be checked it was agreed that the final version of the document will be approved by a written procedure and that the administrative circular willl be available in the Departmental secretariats soon thereafter.
Calendar of committee meetings
It was agreed to hold meetings in the second half of 2008 on:
2 September, 30 September, 28 October and 2 December.
by HR Department
