Contract agents, similarly to temporary agents, are EU personnel working for any EU institution on a fixed-term contract. According EPSO and the EU civil service portal, there are two sub-categories of contract agent.
The first covers those who are hired to work: in Commission Directorates-General to do manual or administrative support-service tasks; in Commission Offices attached to a Directorate-General, such as the two Offices for Infrastructure and Logistics in Brussels and Luxembourg and the Paymasters Office; in Agencies; in Commission Representations and Delegations. Contract agent of this type enjoy longer-term employment prospects, with an initial contract running for a maximum period of five years and renewable for a maximum of five years.
The contract can be converted into a contract of indefinite duration. The second sub-category covers contract agents that can be hired to work in Commission's DGs dealing with other tasks than manual and administrative support tasks. That is to say, they are recruited: temporarily to replace officials absent due to illness, maternity leave, etc.; as a response to acute staff shortages at times of intense work pressure; to undertake work for a temporary period providing additional capacity in specialised fields where officials with the required skills are not available.
Contract agent of this type has short-term employment prospects, working on the basis of contracts running up to a maximum of three years. The minimum length of contract is three months.
See also:
Temporary Agent, Salary of EU Officials and Civil Servants, EU Officials, Administrators (AD), Assistants (AST)
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