Made in accordance with Article 2(10) of the Statute of the European Ombudsman[1]

Background to the complaints

1. The complainants in these cases are two Portuguese nationals who took part in a selection procedure[2] organised by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) in 2023 to recruit members of its ‘standing corps’.

2. In May 2024, having passed the initial stages of the selection procedure, both complainants received a letter from Frontex offering them posts as ‘contract staff’. The offers were conditional, amongst other things, on the complainants undergoing a swimming test and a medical examination. The offers also specified that the complainants were expected to take up their duties on 1 July 2024, without any possibility of postponing the date.

3. Both candidates accepted the conditional offers and travelled to Frontex’s headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, in May 2024 to undergo the swimming tests and the medical examination. Both candidates also met with Frontex’s Human Resources team in order to confirm their eligibility.

4. In June 2024, both complainants received formal job offers from Frontex. A few days before receiving the formal offer, one complainant had already approached his employer (in the Portuguese public sector) to request long term unpaid leave in order to take up the post with Frontex. The other complainant, who worked for a similar employer in Portugal, made such a request very shortly after receiving the offer from Frontex. However, neither complainant was granted such long-term leave, and both informed Frontex that they were unable to accept the offers for this reason.

5. Frontex informed the complainants, separately, that since they decided to reject the job offers, they were not eligible for reimbursement for their travel and subsistence expenses in relation to their trips to Warsaw in May 2024.

6. Both complainants then used Frontex’s internal complaint mechanism[3] to submit complaints about the decisions not to reimburse their expenses.

7. Frontex rejected both complaints in December 2024. In both cases, it confirmed it would not reimburse the complainants for their trips to Warsaw in May 2024. Frontex cited Article 6(5) of its rules on financial contributions[4], which states that candidates found medically fit but who do not take up duties are not entitled to reimbursement for travel or subsistence costs related to the pre-employment medical examination. It stressed that reimbursement depends not on accepting the job offer, but on actually taking up duties at Frontex. Frontex also noted that the complainants should have contacted their employers earlier, as they were aware that their national law required three months' notice to begin long-term leave.

8. The complainants turned to the Ombudsman in December 2024 and January 2025, respectively.

The inquiry

9. The Ombudsman opened an inquiry into Frontex’s decision not to reimburse the complainants for their travel and subsistence costs relating to their trips to Warsaw in May 2024.

10. In the course of the inquiry, the Ombudsman inquiry team met with Frontex representatives and, subsequently, received the complainants’ comments in response to the meeting report.

Arguments presented to the Ombudsman

By the complainants

11. Both complainants argued that they had not rejected the job offers but had been prevented from joining Frontex because their national employers refused to grant them long-term unpaid leave. They pointed out that, under Portuguese law, such a request must be made three months before the start of the leave. They assumed that the refusal was likely due to their failure to meet this deadline. The complainants emphasised that Frontex’s slow recruitment process had put them in an impossible position, as they could not request leave before knowing if they would be offered a position — something that only became certain in June 2024.

12. One of the complainants also contended that he had visited Warsaw not only to undergo the medical examination but also to undergo a swimming test and should, in any event, be reimbursed for this aspect of the trip. He noted that, while Frontex’s rules link reimbursement for costs related to the medical examination with the candidate taking up duties at Frontex, this is not the case for the swimming tests.

By Frontex

13. Frontex stated that, in these cases, the candidates had accepted the job offers but did not take up duties because their Portuguese employers refused their leave requests, which had not been submitted within the required time limit. They stressed that, for the purpose of determining reimbursement, the key factor is not the candidates' intention but whether they actually took up their duties. Frontex also noted that the complainants could have resigned from their national posts to join Frontex. As such, the fact that they were refused long-term leave did not prevent them from taking up the posts.

14. Regarding the time taken to make the job offers, Frontex explained that the conditional offers (subject to the swimming test and medical examination) were sent six weeks before the formal offers in June. The contracts themselves were issued two weeks before the start date. Candidates were informed throughout the procedure that the start date was non-negotiable. Frontex noted that this approach worked for the vast majority of candidates. It also explained that it was handling an unprecedented volume of recruitment procedures, with thousands of applications, and therefore could not offer flexibility on start dates, as recruitment procedures are tied to training schedules.

15. Regarding the swimming tests, Frontex explained that the decision on the complainants’ trips to Warsaw was based on the principle that travel and subsistence costs related to the medical examination are not reimbursed in any case. Although candidates who are invited to participate in selection activities and are reimbursed regardless of the outcome, in this case the main reason for the trips to Warsaw was for the medical examination. Candidates would normally undergo the swimming tests at an earlier stage, but, in 2024, the selection procedure had to be carried out differently, which required combining the swimming tests with the medical examination.

The Ombudsman's assessment

16. The Ombudsman notes that the complainants stayed longer in Warsaw because they had to undergo swimming tests in addition to the medical examination, and that those tests and the medical examinations were not conducted on the same day. This meant that the complainants incurred additional related costs, notably for the extra nights spent in hotels and subsistence costs.

17. While Frontex’s rules specify that successful candidates who are found medically fit but decline to take up their duties in Frontex will not be reimbursed for any travel or subsistence expenses related to the pre-employment medical examination, no such limitation on reimbursement is placed on the other tests the candidates undergo.

18. While Frontex combined the swimming tests with the medical examination due to the pressures on its recruitment procedures, it should have made a separate evaluation of the costs related to the swimming tests. This is particularly relevant given the swimming tests took place two days later, meaning the complainants were obliged to stay for an extended period in Warsaw. In light of this, the Ombudsman will make a proposal for a solution.

The proposal for a solution

The Ombudsman proposes that Frontex should reconsider its decision not to reimburse the complainants for the entirety of the travel and subsistence costs, and should consider reimbursing them unavoidable costs related to the swimming tests they underwent, namely for the additional nights in a hotel and daily subsistence. 

Frontex is invited to inform the Ombudsman by 15 September 2025 of any action it has taken in relation to the above solution proposal.

Teresa Anjinho
European Ombudsman

Strasbourg, 20/06/2025

 

[1] Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2021.253.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2021%3A253%3ATOC

[2] Vacancy notice RCT-2023-00022 - https://microsite.frontex.europa.eu/en/recruitments/RCT-2023-00022

[3] Under Article 90(2) of the EU Staff Regulations.

[4] https://www.frontex.europa.eu/assets/Careers/Rules_on_financial_contributions_towards_travel_and_subsistence_expenses_for_candidates_invited_to_a_selection_procedure.pdf