CORDIS Archive : Help - Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

6. COSTS
- Personnel -

Personnel

QUESTION
A contract staff member is interested in participating or even co-ordinating an FP5 sponsored project. He was however told by a colleague that he will not be able to participate because he is not a permanent member of university staff. Is this correct?

ANSWER
Article 23.1 a) or b) of the model contract indicates that temporary personnel can work on a EC project and be charged to the project under the following conditions:

- provided that the actual time spent on the project is registered;
- provided that his situation as contractual personnel of the Institution is compatible with the work
to be carried on for the project;
- provided that all national social law regulation and internal rules of the Institution are respected.

It is up to each participant on a research project to define appropriate allocation of resources to the project. Their own internal rules may require that non-permanent staff should not work an such projects.

Cost models - personnel - accompanying measures

QUESTION
The accompanying measures may be funded at 100% and it seems that in these contracts there is not the difference between the additional cost system and the full cost system. On the contrary it seems that there is a unique type of cost system not matter how the accounting system of the contractor is. Is this true?

I would like to know if the personnel costs for the accompanying measures include permanent personnel paid for working full-time for the contractor, or if they are limited to personnel contracted temporally for the project (as in the case of AC system in RTD Projects).

ANSWER
An FP5 accompanying measure contract may be funded up to 100%.

As far as the calculation methods are concerned, there is no calculation method imposed to the participants involved in an FP5 EC accompanying measure. However, in the event of an audit, contractor must be able to identify the actual costs incurred when the Commission has reimbursed some or all of those costs. In the case of a lump sum contribution there is no financial audit.

In general participants working in AC cost basis do so because they do not have the capacity to identify the direct costs of their participation. Whereas those working on FF can at least identify the costs and those working on FC must be able to identify clearly both direct and indirect costs. Since only one cost model is to be used it should be maintained through the 5FP and all projects.

The eligible costs are composed of:

direct costs: personnel (specifically employed and/or permanent personnel), durable equipment, subcontracting, travel and subsistence, consumables, protection of knowledge, other specific costs and coordination costs.
indirect costs (overheads): they may be calculated as a lump sum of the personnel costs. They are set according to the type of action and will in any case never exceed 80% of the personnel costs. The actual % to be applied is normally defined in the relevant Guide for Proposers - Part 2.

Personnel – Additional Costs model

QUESTION
In the RTD projects guidelines, with reference to the AC model, it is stated that "the contract does not allow the costs of the personnel permanently employed on a full-time basis and paid from the participant's normal recurrent funds".

What time span is considered to be "permanent"?

If a person has been elected to a certain position at a university (normal election period 5 years but not tenure), is that a "permanent employment"?

If that person from a fixed date is employed on the 0.75/0.5 time basis, will he/she be considered eligible for personnel costs from the EC funding for a RTD project for the remaining 0.25/0.5 time?

ANSWER
The costs of a "temporary contract for a RTD project" can be charged EXCEPT when this temporary contract is concluded with a researcher permanently employed on a full time basis by the contractor.
In other words, a temporary contract for a RTD project signed with a researcher, being a permanent full time staff of the contractor can not be charged as personnel cost under RTD contract for contractors working under the additional cost system (AC).

ONLY THE COSTS OF A PART TIME PERMANENT STAFF TO WHOM IT HAS BEEN OFFERED A SPECIFIC TEMPORARY PART TIME CONTRACT EXPRESSLY FOR RTD PROJECTS CAN BE ACCEPTED".
For your case,

- a person employed on a fixed term employed contract (5 years ) is not permanent staff

- as he/she only works part time (0.75/0.5), he/she is eligible for personnel costs from the EC funding for a RTD project for the remaining 0.25/0.5 time (article 23.1 c) first indent of the Annex II) the condition being to have signed a specific temporary contract indicating that it is for Community RTD projects".

Personnel

QUESTION
1. In the cost statement form "details by category" there is one column in which is asked to fill in full- or part time employment. Is this meant in general or specific for the project. With P/T/I it is the same: people working on AC basis have to be temporary and cannot be permanent?
Could you give me some clarification on this?

2. In some contracts within FP5, intra muros consultants are eligible under personnel costs. We are looking for a written definition of "intra muros consultants" (sometimes called in house consultants).

ANSWER
In your question, you certainly mention the "personnel and overheads" box and the two following footnotes:

PERSONNEL AND OVERHEADS

COO (3)	Name (4)	Title (Mr/Mrs)	Category (5)	Status (6)	Occupation (7)	Number of person-hours (8)	Hourly personnel rate (9)	Hourly overhead rate (10)	Personnel amount	Overheads amount (11)

						A	B	C	AxB	AxC

										0,0	0,0

(6) : Insert "P" for permanent employees, "T" for temporary employees and "I" for in-house consultants.

(7) : Indicate the occupation status of the individuals, by inserting "FT" for full-time and "PT" for part-time

 Under the "status" category, you must indicate the general status of the person mentioned under the "name" category:

(P): She/He is a "permanent employee" of your legal entity. In other words, she/he has a permanent working contract with your legal entity.
(T): She/He is a "temporary employee" of your legal entity. In other words, she/he has a temporary working contract with your legal entity.
She/He is an "in-house consultant". The definition of an "in-house consultant" or "intra-muros consultant" is the following.
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The definition of an "intra-muros consultants", needs, first of all, a clarification of the notion of personnel.
Personnel, such are mentioned for personnel costs, must be cumulatively :

Directly employed by the contractor in accordance with his national law
Under the contractor’s sole technical supervision (in essence the technical output must belong to the contractor)
Remunerated in accordance with the normal practices of the contractor provided these are acceptable to the Commission

An intra-muros consultant answers to the last above condition.
An intra-muros consultant fulfills with the two first above conditions, if, cumulatively:

he works in the offices of the concerned participant;
he works only or mainly for this participant;
he has a "work contract" with this participant;
this "work contract" mentions explicitly the tasks he has to perform in the indirect action supported by the Commission in which this participant is involved;
the participant may effectively control and assess the performance of the work assigned to this intra-muros consultant;

Financially speaking (for the justification of the costs incurred), in the case of "work contracts", the costs excluding VAT, should be taken from the invoice received for the work performed. Invoices should indicate the project on which the persons have worked, the tasks carried out and the hours spent.

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 Under the "occupation" category, you must indicate the general (not specific to the project) occupation status of the person mentioned under the "name" category:

(FT) : She/He has a full-time work contract with your legal entity ;
(PT) : She/He has a part-time work contract with your legal entity

 Those two information are not specific for the project but qualify the work contract of the person involved in the project. The time spent for the specific project is mentioned under the "Number of person hours" category.

 Finally for legal entity using the Additional cost model (AC), the third indent of the Article 23.1.c of the General Conditions (Annex II) of the Contract mentionx explicitely that the contract of a personnel can be temporary or not:

Article 23 - Direct Costs

1.Personnel

(

c). "For contractors using the additional costs system, costs shall be limited to the actual costs of the personnel employed on the project (gross remuneration and related charges) where the later has concluded :

a temporary contract for Community RTD project (Permanent personnel paid for working full-time for the contractor is excluded fromthis cost-charging system);
a temporary contract for completing a doctorate;
a contract which depends upon external funding additional to the normal recurring funding of the contractor. In that case, the costs charged to this contract must exclude any costs borne using such recurring funding".

In other words, a researcher may have a permanent working contract which depends partly on external funding : the working contract of this researcher mentions explicitly that a part of the salary of the researcher is subject to its involvement in specific activities financially supported by external funding (like the financial contribution of the Community to an indirect action of the Framework Programme).

This part of the salary of this researcher, but only this part, is considered to be an additional personnel costs that could be reimbursed at 100% (only, of course, for participants using the AC cost model).

Personnel nationality

QUESTION
In one of our research contracts under the (Fifth Framework Programme)we want to employ a Russian scientist under an employment contract for scientists at universities for this project. We are not sure, if it is possible from the point of view of the Commission.

ANSWER
There are no conditions concerning the nationality of employers. The basic provisions regarding personnel in FP 5 projects are laid down in:

Art. 13 paragraph 1 of the Commission Regulation on the implementation of the participation and dissemination rules (OJ L 122/9, 12.05.1999, p.9), and
Art. 23, paragraph 1 of general conditions of the model contract for RTD projects.

Personnel costs may be charged (only the costs of the actual hours worked by the personnel). It includes the participant's expenses for taking on the personnel, including the remuneration and related charges.

Such personnel shall:

directly carry out the scientific and technical work under the project,
be directly hired/employed by a participant in accordance with his national legislation,
be under the sole technical supervision of the participant concerned,
and
be remunerated in accordance with the normal practices of the contractor, provided that these are regarded as acceptable by the Commission.

Consequently, work contracts which fulfil the above criteria may be charged as personnel costs.