Dear Mr X,

You recently submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the reply you received on 27 January 2026 by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) to your request for review in the context of selection procedure EPSO/AD/403/23 - 1. In essence, you disagree with EPSO’s decision to disqualify you from the selection procedure because you used unauthorised equipment (headset) during the tests. You argue that wearing a headset was not prohibited and you would like EPSO to reintegrate you into the selection procedure.

After careful analysis of all the information you have sent us, we have concluded that there was no maladministration by EPSO[1].

We note that the test provider for the tests in question was TestWe and that in the context of the testing provided by that company, candidates are not allowed to use/wear earphones, headphones, earplugs or a headset[2]. We also note that this was clearly communicated to all candidates in the instructions related to online testing. These instructions were part of the invitation to the online tests that took place in January 2025 for selection procedure EPSO/AD/403/23 – 1. This prohibition differs from the requirements of EPSO’s previous test provider Prometric, which allowed the use of headphones.[3] However, it is the responsibility of candidates to carefully check all requirements applicable to each test session and to abide by them. Since wearing a headset was specifically prohibited, we find reasonable EPSO’s decision to disqualify you from the selection procedure.

I appreciate this may not be your desired outcome, but I hope you find these explanations helpful.

Yours sincerely,

Tina Nilsson
Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 14/04/2026

 

[1] Full information on the procedure and rights pertaining to complaints can be found at https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/document/70707

[2] https://eu-careers.europa.eu/system/files/2025-06/HRT_EN_2.4.3_Instructions_15052025.pdf

[3] https://eu-careers.europa.eu/system/files/2024-02/230322%20EPSO%20info%20note%20on%20core%20IT%20requirements%20for%20online%20tests%20Ares%282023%292121379.pdf