Increases to their salaries will be seen from next payroll by some 40,000 civil servants who have been holding a personal differential, which until now has “frozen” their pay.

A circular by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Thanos Petralia,s now unblocks the possibility of salary adjustments, with retroactive effect from 1 June 2024. The total cost of the intervention amounts to 12 million euros, and the benefit for the beneficiaries is equal.

The circular clarifies that personal differences can only be reduced through offsetting with increases in basic salaries due to salary maturation, changes in category, recognition of qualifications, or other internal service steps. It cannot be offset against increases resulting from the harmonization of public sector salaries with the private sector minimum wage.

The offsetting mechanism provides that the personal difference is reduced either by 50% of the increase in the basic salary or by the amount in excess of €300 – whichever is less. If the personal difference does not exceed EUR 300, there is no change.

According to the examples worked out by the General Accounting Office:

Example 1 – Personal difference less than 300 euros: When the personal difference is less than 300 euros, there is no reduction at all, no matter how much the basic salary is increased. For example, a PE employee in Salary Grade 14 with a basic salary of €1,959 and a personal allowance of €250 is promoted to Grade 15 with a new basic salary of € 2,209. The personal difference remains at 250€, and his total salary is increased from 2,209€ to 2,268€.

Case 2 – Personal difference equal to 300€: When the personal difference is exactly 300€, it is also not reduced, regardless of the increase in the basic salary. In the case of an employee with a base of €1,959 and a personal difference of €300, who moves to MK 15 with a new base of €2,018, his/her salary increases from €2,259 to €2,318, with no change in the personal difference.

Case 3 – Personal difference greater than €300: Offsetting applies here. If the difference exceeds 300€, the excess amount can be reduced, up to 50% of the increase in the basic amount. In the first sub-case, an employee with a personal difference of €400 and an increase of €59 in the basic amount is subject to a set-off of €29.5, as this is less than the excess of €100. The new personal difference is set at 370.50€, with the salary increasing from 2,359€ to 2,388.50€.

In the second sub-case, an employee with a personal difference of 310€ and an increase of 59€ has an excess of 10€, which is offset in full. Thus, the new personal difference drops to 300€ and the salary rises from 2,269€ to 2,318€.
In the third sub-case, a TE employee with a basic salary of 1,852€ is transferred to a PE with a new basic salary of 1,959€ – an increase of 107€.

His difference of 360€ exceeds the 300€ by 60€, but only the smaller amount is offset: i.e., 50% of the increase (53,5€). Thus, the new personal difference becomes 306,50€ and the salary increases from 2.212€ to 2.265,50€.