Overall, EU salaries are by no means low compared to most EU countries’ average pay levels and come with additional allowances and other benefits. EU salaries are, in general, better than the member states’ public sector wages, but often lower than the private sector, especially when talking about experienced specialist or managerial positions. On the other hand, job security is higher, and health care and pension schemes are generally better. Here’s a brief overview on how your salary will be calculated:
Everything starts with the so-called “basic salary". This is based on the type of contract, the grade and the step (i.e., seniority in the grade, one step equals 2 years) of the official. The basic salary grid for permanent and temporary officials is given in Article 66 of the Staff Regulations. Basic salaries are adjusted annually in line with inflation and purchasing power in the EU countries. (Article 65 and Annex XI). To reflect the higher or lower cost of living in the place of employment compared with Brussels, the basic salary is weighted by applying a coefficient. This may have a considerable impact on the net sum received as this coefficient varies widely.
On 1/7/2020, for (both temporary and appointed) administrators and assistants, the lowest (Step 1) basic salary for AST/SC 1 was 2976,76 EUR and the highest (Step 5) for an AD16 was 20768,76 EUR. For contract agents, the lowest (step 1, FG I) was 2088,92 EUR and the highest (Step 5, FG IV) 6593,66 EUR. The contracts of accredited parliamentary assistants are concluded for a fixed period and specify the grade in which the assistant is classified. There are no steps. The lowest basic salary is 1900,113 EUR and the highest 8750,68 EUR.
In addition to the basic salary, agents may receive various allowances depending on their personal circumstances: head of household allowance, dependent child allowance, education allowances, pre-school allowance, education allowance, expatriation allowance or a foreign-residence allowance, installation allowance, daily subsistence allowance, moving and travel expenses.
Salaries and allowances of EU officials are exempt from any national taxation in all EU Member States, but subject to a European tax (deducted at source) for the benefit of the European Communities: social security contributions, pension, health insurance, accident cover, unemployment insurance, income tax, special levy.
The final salary is calculated by adding the relevant allowances and by deducting social security contributions and other taxes.
See also:
CAST | Contract Agents | Temporary Agents | EU Officials | Recruitment | Open Competition | AST1-AST3 | AD5-AD7-AD9
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