human resources policy issueshuman resources division 351 human resources division human resources...
TRANSCRIPT
351Human Resources Division
Human Resources Division
Human Resources Policy Issues
The Human Resources Plan 2003–2010
The CERN management launched a CERN-wide manpower planning exercise for the period 2003–2010 in
which the Human Resources Division was particularly active. The exercise was carried out in the framework
of the medium-term plan and the long-term baseline plan which were presented to the Council in June 2002. It
also took into consideration the recommendations of the External Review Committee (ERC).
The background against which the Human Resources Plan was drawn up included the reduction in staff
numbers (as required by the 1996 financial plan for the construction of the LHC), consideration of industrial
services issues (with a view to increasing efficiency in matching contracts to the programme of work and
reviewing some insourcing/outsourcing issues), the growing priority of the LHC project and the need to
complete it within the cost-to-completion plan, and recommendations of the ERC on a wide range of issues
including managerial and human resources policy. The basic policy and strategic issues covered are outlined
below.
Introduction of an Integrated Personnel and Materials (P+M) Budget
The decision was made to introduce an integrated personnel and materials (P+M) budget as of 2003, with
the staff complements being expressed in Swiss Francs rather than in man-years. This will give the sectors and
divisions greater flexibility to manage resources and optimize their choice of staff by professional category
without having the constraint of a fixed ceiling on staff numbers.
Industrial Staff – Insourcing/Outsourcing
CERN currently has 60 industrial services contracts with about 1980 employees. It was agreed that the
existing outsourcing approaches have provided CERN with good solutions, so the general principles will be
retained. However, there are activities which require an in-depth analysis (so-called business approach) of
what should be the appropriate sourcing approach between insourcing and continued outsourcing. The policy
that industrial services contracts have to be result-oriented will be maintained and the concept of ‘field support
units’ will be introduced in addition to existing outsourcing models. In cases where this is not possible, the
opening of staff positions will be considered, in particular for a new category of staff called ‘Local Staff’.
352 Human Resources Division
Local Staff
A proposal was made to introduce a new category of ‘Local Staff’ (LS) which would offer the possibility
of recruiting up to an estimated 25 full-time equivalents (FTEs) to start with in 2003, reaching 131 FTEs in
2008, in career paths A and B. Although the required transfers from the materials budget (from which
industrial services contracts are paid) to the personnel budget will be neutral in terms of the overall budget, the
use of LS will lead to marked improvements in operational efficiency by, for example, providing more
transparent situations to avoid duplication and mixed responsibility between the contractor and the CERN
supervisor. Initial savings of about 10% would be made on personnel per capita costs because of the limitation
of benefits payable. Work is continuing on the details of LS for a proposal to be made to Council in the Spring
of 2003.
Contract Policy
A review was made of staff contract policy with a proposal to extend limited duration contracts up to a
maximum of 9 years (instead of the current 6 years). The ultimate aim is to reach a ratio of about 2:1 for long-
term contracts to limited duration contracts by 2010.
Staff Redeployment and Internal Mobility
The Organization’s overall goal of optimizing various types of manpower resources entailed increased
flexibility in areas such as staff mobility and redeployment. This led to the setting up of a new structure in the
Accelerator Sector, which constitutes about one-third of the staff, resulting in synergy and increased
efficiency. A Group of over 50 staff was created in the EST Division to look after the installation and
commissioning of the LHC sectors. The Organization also introduced a scheme to encourage internal mobility
at the individual level, which resulted in a further 20 movements of staff urgently required to consolidate the
follow-up and manufacturing of the LHC superconducting magnets.
Staff Composition and Training
The composition of the staff must also be adapted to the needs of the LHC installation and operation
phases. This means that the Organization will need to recruit or retain more technicians and fewer engineers
than were needed for the design phase of the project. Actions have been taken to re-focus the Organization’s
training programmes in the light of these new requirements, including LHC-related aspects, project
management techniques, general management, and training for redeployment.
Project Associates
The Fellows, Associates and Students Programmes remain of crucial importance to the science and
technology communities. The current 3-year duration of Project Associates’ appointments has proven to be
too restrictive, so work is ongoing to propose that the maximum duration of Project Associate contracts be
increased from 3 years to 5 years up until the completion of the LHC. The proposal will be made to Council in
the Spring of 2003.
353Human Resources Division
The First Year of the Merit Advancement and Promotion Scheme (MAPS)
The first year of implementation of MAPS was a success. The involvement of the Human Resources
Division with the supervisors in the divisions was considerable in helping to make the transition from the
former MOAS scheme. The new rules and procedures were closely followed and the main objectives to have a
more dynamic and flexible scheme, together with a more qualitative performance appraisal process, were
attained.
MAPS has marked a new milestone at CERN in the field of advancement and increased recognition of
performance of staff members, replacing many of the ‘semi-automatic’ aspects which had previously been
perceived. The new scheme has enabled managers to make decisions on a sounder basis in order to better
modulate the advancement of their staff, as a function of responsibilities and performance. This was achieved
within the same advancement budget as in previous years by redeploying available resources towards the
higher performers and has offered additional possibilities for younger staff.
This encouraging first year of MAPS shows that the Organization is adapting to changing trends in its
environment and in the labour market, and is moving towards a more flexible and dynamic management of its
human resources.
Salary Adjustment for 2002
In accordance with the decisions taken by the Finance Committee and Council in December 2001, salaries
and pensions were adjusted for 2002 with an increase of 1.3% for the scale of basic salaries and the scale of
basic stipends, and of 0.8% for pensions.
Facts and Figures about Staff Members
Evolution
The number of staff members joining the Organization was 101, whilst 208 left. The end-year strength was
2550, or 2474.4 full-time equivalents.
Staff breakdown by sector at 31.12.2002
Directorate Accelerator Research Technical Administration
DG 8 AC 23 EP 519 EST 203 AS 55
DSU 43 LHC 304 ETT 62 ST 232 FI 40
PS 243 IT 209 TIS 142 HR 77
SL 312 TH 24 SPL 54
51 882 814 577 226
354 Human Resources Division
As currently foreseen in the long-term plan of the Organization, staff numbers will reach the level of about
2100 in 2006; this includes an additional allocation of 250 FTEs for 2004–2007 following the manpower
review. The decrease will be achieved by a continued large number of retirements. This also implies that
recruitment opportunities will be more limited than in recent years.
Evolution of staff by professional category since 1990 and forecast for overall
evolution until 2010.
Staff Recruitment and Turnover
One hundred and five vacancies were published during the year, which is 42 fewer than in 2001. The trend
in the decline of applicants, as observed in previous years, could not be reverted. The scarcity of qualified
candidates from some of the Member States, notably in technical fields, continued to make it necessary to hold
several selection boards before a vacancy could be filled, thus delaying recruitment. It also has a negative
effect on the number of recruits from already under-represented nationalities.
The recruitment outreach programme included three visits to Member State countries. The first was to
Trondheim in Norway and included attendance at the Technical University’s hiring fair, the establishment of
links with the Technical High School and the local employment service. The second event was in Budapest at
the Technical University’s annual job fair. Presentations of recruitment programmes were made in four other
Hungarian universities and colleges. Finally, attendance was made at an engineering fair in Coventry, United
Kingdom.
Advertising continued on various internet job boards including some of the world leaders in this field. An
administrative student developed Web pages for the programme and made links to several free job boards in
Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
Progress on the e-recruitment project is covered in the section below on the FAS Programmes.
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
� Research Physicists
Applied Scientists & Engineers
Administrators & Office Staff
Manual workers and crafts(wo)men
Technical Staff
Total ceilingsfor Staff (in FTEs)
�
355Human Resources Division
Staff recruitment in 2002
In 2002, 101 new staff, of whom 59 were selected on vacancies published in 2001, took up an appointment
at CERN. Twenty-five (25%) were female which was in line with the percentage of applications from females.
There were 208 staff departures in 2002, the second highest of the past 15 years, and 7% higher than in
2001 (194). Slightly less than two-thirds of these departures (137) concern staff towards the end of their career
who left on early retirement between the ages of 60 and 64 (90) or at the statutory age limit of 65 (47). There
were also 13 resignations, mainly of staff members in their first 5 years of service, as well as 25 staff who left
CERN at the expiry of their limited-duration or fixed-term contract.
Granting of Long-Term Staff Contracts
The overall recruitment policy, by which the majority of staff are recruited at an early stage in their career
on contracts of limited duration up to a total of six years, remained unchanged. Ninety-four out of 101 new
staff in 2002 (93%) were recruited on contracts of limited duration.
The procedure for granting long-term contracts, revised in 1999, continued. The two inter-divisional
boards were involved in 49 selections of staff holding limited duration contracts being recruited on long-term
contracts, and in 12 renewals of fixed-term contracts. At the same time, 47 staff members recruited on long-
term contracts were awarded an indefinite contract.
NationalityApplications
receivedCandidates
invitedCandidates attending
Staffarrivals
AustriaBelgiumBulgariaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalSlovak RepublicSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUnited KingdomNon-Member State
148532282727
10371092044
2836522535220
16537
20525113
5155498
1234639
50105
14133
351027673
5104378
1184038
43104
14113
328
22553
122122
301120
1331132313
172
Total 2589 464 411 102
356 Human Resources Division
Facts and Figures about Fellows, Associates and Students (FAS) Programmes
The Fellows, Associates and Students (FAS) programmes provide unique research and training
opportunities in a high-technology environment for young students, postgraduates, and established scientists
from all over the world. The programmes play a fundamental role in technology transfer and provide a
platform for the exchange of ideas within the scientific and technological communities.
Recruitment of Fellows in 2002
A comparison of the number of applications in the FAS programmes with that of 2001, indicates the
following:
– A 6% increase in Fellow applications, after a 20% decrease in 2001.
– A 40% increase (104 more applications) in the Technical Student Programme, but a decrease in the
Doctoral Student applications. The average increase for both programmes is of the order of 24%, a
positive development, especially since it follows an increase of 12% in 2001.
Nationality
Fellows
Applications received
Selected
AustriaBelgiumBulgariaCzech RepublicDenmarkFinlandFranceGermanyGreeceHungaryItalyNetherlandsNorwayPolandPortugalSlovak RepublicSpainSwedenSwitzerlandUnited KingdomNon-Member State
942323
51449
1155113
2184
5510112917
510000
101622
1640721
134472
Total 362 96
357Human Resources Division
– Applications for Scientific and Corresponding Associateships have significantly decreased (from 182 in
2001 to 111 in 2002), an effect mainly coming from the non-Member State applicants.
– A 20% increase in the Summer Student applications.
A small decrease in the number of selected CERN Fellows was essentially compensated by an increase in
the number of externally funded Fellows. However, the recent financial reductions have led to a sizeable
reduction in the number of selected Students and Associates (17% and 45% respectively). It is also worth
noting that a part of the 2002 Associates budget has been redirected to Fellow appointments and that a shift of
funds from Fellows and Associates to Students had to take place in order to compensate for the significant
reductions in the materials budget, from which subsistence to students is paid.
Applicants and selected candidates by FAS Programme in 2002
The year 2002 was remarkable for appointments paid by external funds. There were 14 appointments for
the Grid project, and 48 Trainees (compared with 17 in 2001) were also hired. New, Web-based procedures for
Trainee project selection and advertisement, as well as for the allocation of posts to candidates, were proposed
and implemented.
Moreover, the links between CERN, its FAS Service, and the European Commission were strengthened
and, in October 2002, a jointly organized ‘Special Workshop of Marie Curie Fellows on Research and Training
in Physics and Technology’ took place at the laboratory. The Organization is currently applying to become a
Marie Curie Host Institute for ‘Early Stage Training’ (for applicants without a PhD and less than 4 years of
postgraduate experience) within the 6th Framework of EU-funded research. The aim, besides its political
implications, is to increase the number of Marie Curie Fellows at CERN, bring EU-funded Doctoral Students
Programme Applied Selected Remarks
Fellows 362 96
19a
a Selection procedure outside the standard FAS Committees.
Including 2 fellows selected within the CERN–Asia programme. 7 fellows selected by the European Union, 9 by PPARC (United Kingdom), and 3 by INFN.
Technical Students 363 82
Doctoral Students 42 24 Including 7 students funded by Austria
Summer Students 649 145 Including students funded by the following countries: United States 10; Sweden 6; Israel 3; Denmark 2; Ireland 1.
Paid Scientific Associates 94 46 Including 3 non-Member State candidates appointed as fellows.
Corresponding Associates 17 14 Including 2 CASS paid on Israeli funds.
Other 2a
41a2 Israeli Technical Associates funded by Israel.18 engineers funded by Portugal, 12 by Spain, and 11 by the Rhône-Alpes Region.
358 Human Resources Division
to the laboratory for the first time, provide additional opportunities to young non-Member State (NMS)
nationals (currently only 4–5 NMS fellows can be selected annually), and enlarge the number of disciplines
that can be funded by the Commission. Participation in other schemes, such as the ‘Transfer of Knowledge’
for fellow-like candidates, as well as ‘Research Training Networks’ is also being considered, while CERN will
be a leading partner in the Grid Integrated Project.
The software automation of the FAS programmes, which started last year, was completed successfully for
the Technical and Doctoral Student Committee and is currently under way for the Associates and Fellows
Committee. Moreover, the major joint project between AS Division and several HR groups on e-recruitment
has led to the acquisition of an Oracle-based tool, which can be successfully combined with the existing HR
databases and will greatly improve, speed up, and facilitate recruitment services and actions. The aim is that
the product becomes operational in September 2003.
In line with CERN’s Equal Opportunity Policy, gender distributions for all FAS programmes are monitored
continuously and the results are shown in the figure below. On average there is no bias at the selection level,
except for a positive bias for Summer Students, as well as for Technical and Doctoral Students in 2002.
Nevertheless, the percentage of women applicants decreases significantly when passing to more senior
categories of personnel (confirming similar observations in 2001).
For details on recruitment of female staff members, please see p. 357.
Gender statistics for FAS Programmes in the period 1998–2002.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
% of women candidates
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
% of selected women
Summer Students Doctoral & Technical Students Fellows Associates
359Human Resources Division
Reports on Activities
Training and Development
Training is particularly important at a time of a major evolution in the Organization, related both to the
redeployment of the research programme along the LHC project and to the transfer of managerial
responsibilities to a new generation.
The Joint Training Board (JTB), which oversees training policy matters at CERN, issued guidelines in
2001 to ensure a constant and dynamic match between the needs of the Organization and the training
organized at CERN.
The activity of the HR-TD group and of the Divisional Training Officers (DTOs), who meet since June
2001 on a monthly basis in the framework of the Training Executive Committee (TEC), focused on the
implementation of these recommendations. A detailed list of all courses and seminars that took place in 2002
appears in the Training Programme annex to the present report.
Technical Training
The Technical Training Programme continued to offer a wide range of courses, tutorials, and seminars
supporting the technical work of the laboratory. Particular emphasis was placed on exploiting the specialist
knowledge and skills of CERN personnel by inviting them to deliver lectures in series which focused on
specific domains of CERN activity, e.g. Electronics in High-Energy Physics.
These lectures were recorded and published on the Web for reviewing purposes and/or for viewing by
people who were unable to attend, and are accessible world-wide. The archiving process used is based on
multi-media R&D performed by technical students sponsored by HR Division and attached to the programme
in recent years who worked in collaboration with the University of Michigan under the umbrella of the Web
Lecture Archive Project.
It is expected that this activity will develop and expand in the future to enable current and future personnel
to benefit from the expertise of their colleagues, especially those who will be retiring.
2002 saw the introduction of a new self-teach Web-based training package designed to complement
standard instructor-led courses, to respond to urgent needs and provide a ‘just in time’ delivery capability.
Assessing the impact and evaluating the effectiveness of this type of learning method is a priority task for
2003.
Requests for the Technical Training Unit to organize and/or provide support for training activities initiated
by divisions, experiments, and projects continued to grow. The unit again hosted the High School Teachers
Programme, providing technical facilities and support, notably this year in collaboration with the Apprentice
Programme through the use of the apprentice workshop, and active participation in the conception and running
of the programme.
360 Human Resources Division
Safety Training
Following the recommendations of a newly formed Safety Training Working Group, members of the
Technical Training Unit collaborated with the TIS Safety Training Officer and specialists to organize sessions
in a revised and expanded Safety Training Programme.
In addition, an HR Division technical student attached to the Technical Training Unit developed a
prototype self-teach Web-based Basic Safety Course which incorporates a facility for testing acquired
knowledge. It is planned to produce this course in multiple languages to combat the problem of the many
different nationalities who work at CERN and must follow such a course but who may be unable to do so
effectively in either English or French.
Management and Communication Training
Given the changing needs of the Organization in terms of Management and Communication skills, a
review of the training offered at CERN in this area was carried out. This was based on an identification of the
needs of people in different hierarchical roles, and an evaluation of the seminars currently offered.
The outcome of this review will be finalized and published in early 2003.
In 2002, the existing seminar programme continued, with the addition of a new module on Industrial
Services Contract Management.
Language Training
From April 2002 there was a 40% reduction in the number of students enrolled in general and professional
language courses. In response to this situation, arising from the budget crisis, a new structure for courses was
set up and then put in place in October 2002.
The changes consisted of integrating self-study into courses of lower-intermediate level and above. This
resulted in a decrease in the number of hours of class time and thus a reduction in costs, at the same time
giving students more responsibility for their own learning.
The year 2002 was also devoted to developing an evaluation scheme for the French courses. Tests were
created for levels 2 to 5 and two pilot sessions took place in March and June, 2002.
Apprentice Programme
The apprentice programme continues according to the 1999 review of this programme. Each year, CERN
hires 10 new apprentices in the following trades:
– ‘Assistant(e)s en Information Documentaire’: 2 apprentices
– ‘Electronicien(ne)s’: 4 apprentices
– ‘Employé(e) de Commerce’: 1 apprentice
– ‘Laborantin(e)s en Physique’: 3 apprentices.
361Human Resources Division
Equal Opportunities
As in previous years, the activities of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel during 2002 can be grouped
into four main categories: awareness, recruitment and career development, work–life balance, and harassment.
Awareness
Activities in this area included actions directed at the CERN personnel as a whole, contacts with external
organizations, and the development of a new Web site with some pages restricted to the CERN intranet and
others made available to the general public. In addition, ‘focus group’ meetings with specific subsets of
CERN’s professional staff were organized. The main issues emerging from these discussions were centred
essentially around career development and work–life balance, though with varying emphases, and these will
be reported back to the Management accordingly.
Recruitment and Career Development
Recruitment
Recruitment statistics continued to follow the positive trend of previous years, with women accounting for
25.8% of applicants, 25.2% of those invited for interviews, 28.8% of those selected and 24.8% of those
arriving at CERN. The small fall in the latter percentage may be due in part to the normal delays between
selections and arrivals. Women accounted for 19% of the indefinite contracts awarded in 2002, and 17% of the
terminated limited duration contracts, both of which percentages correspond to the recruitment intake of a few
years ago.
Recruitment: percentages of female candidates applying, invited to interview,
selected, and arriving at CERN.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
1994 1996 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002
Applicants Invited Selected Arrivals
362 Human Resources Division
Career Development
Following the implementation of the new Merit Advancement and Promotion Scheme, the gender
distribution of the various awards in the 2002 annual exercise was carefully monitored. The positive change
noted last year was unfortunately not repeated, women staff once again faring less well than their male
colleagues in the attribution of additional steps and career path changes — the percentages of Career Path
Changes were 4.3% for eligible women compared to 7.3% for their male counterparts, second steps were
granted to 26.4% of eligible women compared to 28.7% of their male counterparts. Additional steps in Career
Paths F and G were also noted to differ significantly between men and women, 10.5% of eligible women and
16.2% of eligible men being awarded additional steps. As in previous years, this pattern was reversed for
exceptional service premiums, these being awarded to 15.3% of eligible women compared to 11.6% of their
male counterparts. Salary band changes, additional steps awarded to staff in the ‘orange’ zones, and entry into
the exceptional advancement zone were distributed in equitable proportions to eligible men and women.
Work–Life Balance
The need for crèche facilities for CERN staff was re-iterated by all the ‘focus groups’ interviewed who
perceived this to be a serious obstacle to effective work–life balance for all young parents in the laboratory.
Unfortunately, attempts to find a workable solution to this problem have failed so far, and this remains the
greatest regret of the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel to date.
Harassment
A total of 11 complaints of harassment (4 complaints of sexual harassment and 7 complaints of moral
harassment or ‘mobbing’) were treated by the Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel in 2002. Moral harassment,
in particular the difficulties of recognizing this behaviour and ensuring the appropriate follow-up, remains an
issue of growing concern.
The Equal Opportunities Advisory Panel organized a seminar on sexual and moral harassment by an
external consultant. The seminar was followed by a presentation of the CERN procedures for dealing with
these problems. This seminar was attended by a significant audience, both men and women, and followed by a
lively debate, which showed considerable interest in understanding these issues and the appropriate
procedures for dealing with them. Regular training on this topic is recommended.
Social Security
Pension Fund
Besides active participation in the management of the Pension Fund itself, one of the prime tasks of the
Pension Fund Administration and its team is to prepare and implement the decisions of the Fund’s organs, in
particular those that emanate from the Governing Board and the Investment Committee.
363Human Resources Division
In 2002, the Governing Board held eight meetings, whose agendas included recurrent items such as the
approval of the annual report prepared by the Administration, the distribution of financial results from the
preceding financial year, pension adjustments, consideration of the report of the auditors, and matters related
to the operation of the Fund’s Administration. It examined and approved the recommendations of the
Investment Committee, which met eight times. The meetings were mainly aimed at examining the
performance of the fund managers, at optimizing their services, while also assigning one of the new managers
a mandate to manage a portfolio with an absolute return. The Fund decided in 2002 to cancel the mandate of
one of the bond managers for insufficient performance.
Topics relating specifically to the year 2002 include above all the definition of a new asset allocation and
some changes in the Rules and Regulations of the Pension Fund regarding the voting procedures in the
Governing Board and the composition of the Investment Committee, opening it to two new members, bringing
the total members of the Committee to seven.
Following the recommendations made by the actuaries, CERN Council decided in June 2002 to:
– reduce the technical rate from 6% to 5.5% with effect from the next actuarial review;
– continue to compensate the Fund for the reduction in the CERN staff complement by adding
16.1 MCHF to the debt of the Organization;
– set a final capitalization target for the end of the period identical to the one at the beginning of the
period, between 100 and 125%, in order to allow for a safety margin.
Apart from the support provided for these specific topics, the Fund Administration manages a large part of
the Fund’s moveable assets and real estate (it is worth noting that the Fund acquired two new properties in
2002), draws up accounts, settles the payment of entitlements to members and beneficiaries, answers many
questions asked both inside and outside CERN, and ensures that the Fund’s Rules and Regulations are applied.
CERN Health Insurance Scheme (CHIS)
The CHIS Board, a sub-committee of the Standing Concertation Committee, met monthly to review all
aspects of the Scheme, with emphasis on containment of costs and communication to the Members of the
Scheme.
Cost Containment
In 2002, particular focus was put on hospitalization since this area is markedly the largest item of
expenditure, incurring about 40% of all CHIS reimbursements, and because the hospital used for almost half
of CHIS Members’ hospitalizations increased its rates by an average of 15% from 1 July 2002. Measures were
required since the described increase alone would have resulted in an overall 3% increase in the total CHIS
expenditures.
In this respect, the CHIS Board adopted a two-fold approach:
364 Human Resources Division
1. The Scheme’s policy regarding tariff agreements was redefined. Consequently, the agreement with the
afore-mentioned hospital was terminated and partnerships with other hospitals were either sought or
strengthened.
2. New rules for the reimbursement of hospital care were proposed, with a view to encouraging the CHIS
Members to opt for treatment in quality establishments preferably charging moderate rates, and to
putting pressure on the health care providers in order to negotiate preferential rates with them.
Council adopted these new rules in December 2002.
Communication to the Members
Particular effort was made in this area in three ways:
– a double edition of the CHIS Bull’ newsletter, was sent to the Members of the Scheme, informing them
on topics such as the 2001 statistics and the Scheme’s policy regarding tariff agreements;
– a Web site dedicated to the CHIS was launched during the summer, the contents of which concentrate
on providing the essential points of the Scheme;
– a public meeting with the Members of the Scheme was held in October in order to inform them of the
proposed changes regarding hospitalization.
Voluntary Programmes
The Organization operates voluntary programmes that offer possibilities for flexibility in working time,
attenuate difficulties in the transmission of know-how to younger staff, and have a significant impact on the
Organization’s personnel budget. There are three such voluntary programmes: one open to all staff (the Saved
Leave Scheme, SLS), and two others open to staff aged 55 and over (the Progressive Retirement Programme,
and a scheme of part-time work as a pre-retirement measure).
The SLS, a modification of the previous Recruitment by Saved Leave scheme (RSL), was introduced in
January 2001. Most of the staff previously on the RSL continued under the new scheme while those newly
attracted to the scheme significantly increased the overall level of participation. The number of SLS ‘slices’,
which had risen from about 1500 to 1680 between January and December 2001, showed a further increase in
2002 reaching 1780 ‘slices’ by the end of the year.
The two programmes open to staff aged 55 and over aim to facilitate progressive retirement and contribute
to rejuvenating the staff age distribution whilst retaining the know-how and expertise of experienced staff on a
part-time basis.
The Progressive Retirement Programme (PRP), implemented in 1997, offers the possibility to work half-
time in a flexible way until retirement, while receiving 70% of salary. The staff member and the Organization
cease to make contributions to the Pension Fund, and the staff member foregoes any further accumulation of
pension rights. By the end of 2002, 213 staff had signed up to the programme. This represents a participation
of 97 staff (or 75 full-time equivalents) over the full year.
365Human Resources Division
The scheme for part-time work (between 60 and 80% working hours), as a pre-retirement measure was
introduced in 1994. Remuneration is reduced pro-rata with the reduction in working time, but staff have the
choice to contribute to the Pension Fund on a pro-rata or on a full-time basis. It catered for 49 individual
situations in 2002.
Relations with Staff
The Human Resources Division organizes public meetings to inform staff about important changes in
employment issues. Further to Divisional information meetings on the new career structure in 2001, a series of
information and training sessions for supervisors were held at the beginning of 2002 in preparation for the first
year of implementation of the Merit Advancement and Promotion Scheme (MAPS).
HR Division also makes substantial use of CERN’s Weekly Bulletin to announce decisions and to
communicate (changes in) administrative procedures. The HR Division Web site has established itself as an
important element in the communication with staff, and in 2002 was used to support the communication on the
new career structure and the internal mobility scheme.
The Management meets regularly with the Staff Association, which represents the personnel on a
collective basis. HR Division participates actively in such meetings — the Standing Concertation Committee
(SCC), the Tripartite Employment Conditions Forum (TREF), and in different working groups within these
committees.
In the SCC, proposals of both parties concerning any matter regarding the employment conditions of the
members of the personnel are discussed and a recommendation to the Director-General is formulated. In 2002,
the Committee met 14 times and discussed, in particular, aspects regarding the implementation of MAPS and
the proposed introduction of Local Staff.
TREF consists of representatives of the Member States, Management, and the Staff Association. Its
mandate is to study remuneration and employment conditions at CERN. It is not a decision-making body, but,
as the name suggests, allows an exchange of views of the three parties. Such an exchange leads to a better
mutual understanding and facilitates the adoption of constructive solutions to problems.
Major issues examined by the Forum, which met five times in 2002, were the three-yearly review of the
CERN Pension Fund, cost containment measures concerning the CERN Health Insurance Scheme, the
proposed introduction of Local Staff, and the Human Resources Plan 2003–2010, which was submitted to the
Council in December 2002.
About the Division
Legal Work
Legal support was provided by HR to various working groups and committees. This included in particular
advice regarding the introduction of the Local Staff members category and related amendments to the Staff
366 Human Resources Division
Rules & Regulations as well as participation in the implementation of the new career structure. Several
administrative or operational circulars were drafted or revised and submitted to the Standing Concertation
Committee, in particular relating to the new Home Leave procedure, which required significant modifications
of the rules.
The rate of litigation cases continued to increase in 2002, in particular on complex and important issues for
HR (social protection, non-resident allowance, assimilation in the new career structure). Numerous requests
for advice by individuals concerning their administrative situation, their fiscal status, and their social
protection (health insurance, accidents, and illnesses) also required an additional effort.
Application of Social and Statutory Conditions
With Members of Personnel coming from all over the world and working and living in two different states
(Switzerland and France), HR Division provides administrative and social services linked to their installation
and their life in the local area which are more numerous and complex than in most other organizations. Typical
examples are listed in the table below.
Some administrative tasks performed in 2002
Payments and reimbursements No.
Official travel (including on joining and leaving CERN)Education (school fees, etc.)Installation indemnitiesHome leaveRemovalsReimbursement of invited candidatesOther reimbursements
63212558184
1493183223596
Integration in local area and family status
Legitimation documentsFormalities for new members of personnelInduction Programme sessions Staff Members invited to the Induction sessions Fellows invited to the Induction sessionsAttestations
6170917129995
972
Contractual actions
Contracts (excluding Users)Changes of family statusOther contractual actions
128111185053
367Human Resources Division
Simplification of Procedures
Home Leave
The new system of calculating and making automatic payments for home leave came into force on 1 June
2002 as part of the general simplification of administrative procedures. This new tool, the outcome of
18 months’ intensive and fruitful collaboration between AS and HR Divisions, has cut down the number of
administrative steps involved, simplified the work of the divisional secretariats in particular, and made it
possible for those with home-leave entitlements to submit such leave requests directly over the EDH system
and at all times to check dates when this leave may be taken and the estimated scale of the benefit. The new
procedure has proved a real success, accompanied as it has been by a strong internal publicity effort. It has
been very widely welcomed by those applying for leave and its smooth introduction, just before the summer
period, a time frame when a large number of requests are generated within a short space of time, has
demonstrated its value. By 31 December 2002, 1100 sets of home leave had been processed automatically.
CERN Cards and Installation Services
Great strides were made in simplifying procedures with regard to identity documents and registration of
cars on consular and diplomatic plates in France.
Identity Documents
Application forms for French cards and other documentation concerned with day-to-day identity card
administration have been posted on the Web. This has resulted in considerable improvement to the level of
service provided to members of the personnel. Moreover, e-mails sent out automatically to members of the
personnel some weeks before the expiry of various identity documents have made for better follow-up of files
connected with their replacement.
Vehicle Registration
Application forms for registration on consular or diplomatic plates and requests for exemption from VAT
have been posted on the Web, facilitating and rationalizing the registration procedure.