Administrative Circular No. 26 (Rev. 12) entitled “Recognition of Merit” approved by the Director-General following recommendation by the Standing Concertation Committee after its meeting on 5 October 2020, is available via the following link: https://cds.cern.ch/record/2746785?ln=en.
This circular cancels and replaces Administrative Circular No. 26 (Rev. 11) entitled “Recognition of Merit” (“AC 26”) as from 1 January 2021.
The main modifications are summarized below:
- Procedure for performance recognition in case of absence during the reference period
Section II. E. “Specific conditions applicable to staff members on special leave for professional reasons”, which currently includes the requirement to obtain performance appraisals from outside institutions, is removed.
Instead, new paragraph 28 provides that staff members who have worked for CERN for less than a third of the reference period receive a performance appraisal, which shall be limited to a brief description of the work carried out and the type and duration of the authorized absence(s).
In addition, it is clarified that staff members who are in their probation period or who have worked for CERN for less than a third of the reference period (except in case of maternity leave) are not eligible for a performance qualification or a performance reward (new paragraphs 33 and 35).
- Career reviews initiated at the request of staff member
The purpose of the modifications in Section IV. B. is to clarify the role of the department head in career review procedures (paragraphs 47 to 49). In particular, when the career review is at the request of the staff member, the departmental committee submits its recommendation directly to the Director-general.
- Other technical modifications
New paragraph 58 specifies that the coordination and harmonization of merit recognition within departments is not applicable in case of career reviews at the initiative of staff members.
Annex I bis “transition measures” is supressed as no longer applicable.
Paragraph 1 of Annex 1 is revised to clarify that salary increases shall not exceed the maximum of the staff member’s grade.