European Labour Authority

Mission and mandate

ELA was established by Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019. The agency became operational on 17 October 2019 and is in its build-up phase, with full operational capacity targeted for 2024–2025. The Regulation explicitly mentions ELA's role in supporting cross-border labour mobility for workers and undertakings while ensuring that EU rules on labour mobility and social security coordination are applied effectively.

ELA's six core functions are: (1) information services — providing accessible information to workers, employers, and national authorities on rights and obligations under EU labour mobility and social security rules; the agency's website is the central EU-level information point for mobile workers; (2) cooperation and exchange of information between national authorities — running structured exchange platforms between national labour inspectorates, social security institutions, and free movement authorities; (3) coordinating and supporting concerted and joint inspections — at the request of two or more member states, ELA can coordinate cross-border labour inspections targeting cases of undeclared work, posting of workers, or letter-box companies. The agency provides operational, logistical, and legal support; (4) analysis and risk assessment — producing analyses of EU labour mobility patterns, risks of unfair practices, and good practices; (5) supporting member states in tackling undeclared work — through the European Platform tackling undeclared work, which was integrated into ELA in 2021; (6) mediation between member states — resolving disputes between national authorities on cross-border cases, particularly on social security coordination cases under Regulation (EC) 883/2004.

ELA hosts the European Coordination Office of EURES — the EU's pan-European job mobility portal that helps job-seekers find work in another EU country and employers find candidates from across the EU. The EURES network connects the public employment services of the 27 member states plus EFTA states.

Structure and operational divisions

ELA is led by an Executive Director (Cosmin Boiangiu from 2021) and a Management Board representing the 27 member states, the social partners (employers and trade unions), and the Commission. The agency is structured into operational departments: Operations (covering joint and concerted inspections, mediation, the European Platform tackling undeclared work); Information, Mobility and Tools (EURES Coordination Office, the EURES portal, information services, support tools for national authorities); Strategy and Knowledge (analysis, risk assessment, evaluations, studies); Resources (HR, finance, ICT, procurement, infrastructure); and the Cabinet of the Executive Director.

Geographically the agency is concentrated in Bratislava at Landererova street, a few minutes' walk from the Old Town. There are no field offices. National Liaison Officers — labour inspectors and social security officials seconded by member states to work at ELA on cross-border cooperation — sit at the Bratislava headquarters and are a structural feature of the agency. ELA's joint and concerted inspections take place in member states under the operational lead of the national authorities concerned, with ELA staff providing coordination and support.

Hiring landscape over the last 12 months

ELA hiring concentrates on three streams. First, operations and inspections — AD7–AD9 specialist posts covering joint inspection coordination, mediation case handling, the European Platform tackling undeclared work, and social security coordination disputes. These posts typically require 5–10 years' prior experience at a national labour inspectorate, social security institution, or labour ministry, plus a relevant legal or social-policy degree. Second, the EURES Coordination Office — AD5–AD9 posts covering portal management, employer engagement, mobility schemes (such as targeted mobility for hard-to-fill vacancies, the Your First EURES Job programme), and EURES advisor support. Third, information, analysis, and policy — AD5–AD9 posts covering risk analysis, evaluations, studies on EU labour mobility patterns, and information products for workers and employers.

A substantial stream of contract agent posts at FG III–FG IV covers project officer, finance, communications, ICT, and administrative support functions via CAST Permanent. ELA runs an active SNE programme drawing from national labour inspectorates, social security institutions, and labour ministries across the 27 member states — the National Liaison Officer role is filled exclusively from national authorities under SNE arrangements. The agency's build-up phase since 2019 means hiring volume has been high relative to its total headcount; by 2025–2026 the agency is approaching its planned operational capacity.

Salary realism by grade and the Bratislava coefficient

Bratislava has a correction coefficient of 79.7 under Article 64 of the Staff Regulations — one of the lower coefficients in the EU duty-station network. An AD7 step 1 grosses €7,876 monthly basic at the 2024/2025 grid; with the Bratislava coefficient that becomes €6,277 monthly basic before allowances. Add the 16% expatriation allowance (€1,260, not modified by the coefficient — a key compensating factor), a household allowance for a married hire (~€220 plus 2% of basic), and a dependent-child allowance per child (~€510), and an AD7 expatriate with one child lands around €8,100–€8,800 gross monthly before tax. EU tax is progressive; net take-home is roughly 80–84% of gross at AD7.

Bratislava is one of the more affordable EU duty stations, though housing has risen materially since 2019 and central-Bratislava rents for a two-bedroom apartment now run €800–€1,300 monthly. Restaurants, transport, and groceries remain materially cheaper than Western European duty stations. Expatriate purchasing power in Bratislava is materially better than in Brussels for staff with families. International schooling is available locally and is largely covered by the education allowance. The non-financial benefit cited by ELA staff is Bratislava's proximity to Vienna (a 60-minute train ride) and to the Vienna international airport, which makes the broader Vienna-Bratislava metropolitan area accessible. Use the [salary calculator](/guide/salary-calculator/) to model an AD7 take-home for Bratislava against Brussels.

Languages, security clearance, and competition profile

English is the working language across ELA. All internal meetings, written products, and external communications are in English. Slovak is useful for daily life in Bratislava but not required for the job. Knowledge of a second EU language is the regulatory minimum for AD and FG posts. For operations and mediation work involving particular member states, additional languages (German, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian, Hungarian — the latter four particularly important for posting of workers cases that frequently involve Central and Eastern European posted workers in Western European member states) are highly valued.

Security clearance is not generally required at ELA. The agency does not handle classified material as a matter of routine work. Staff handling sensitive operational information on cross-border inspections may be subject to confidentiality undertakings.

Competition profiles favour candidates with a relevant legal or policy background — a national degree in labour law, social security law, EU law, public administration, or a related discipline. Prior experience at a national labour inspectorate (the Inspection du Travail in France, the Italian Ispettorato Nazionale del Lavoro, the Spanish Inspección de Trabajo, the German Zollverwaltung Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit, the Polish Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy, etc.), a national social security institution, a labour ministry, the Commission's DG EMPL, the European Parliament's EMPL Committee secretariat, or a major trade union confederation is the typical AD7+ profile.

Application paths

ELA recruits via three routes. Direct temporary agent recruitment — the main channel for AD posts. Vacancy notices are published on ela.europa.eu/en/about/careers and circulated via the EU Careers portal. Applications are submitted through the agency's online system with CV, motivation letter, language self-assessment, and supporting documents. Shortlisted candidates undergo a written test (typically a labour mobility, social security, or mediation case study tailored to the post) and a structured interview.

Contract agent via CAST Permanent — candidates register on the EU Careers portal in the relevant FG profile (Project/Programme Management, Communications, ICT, Finance, Administrative Support) and respond to specific ELA notices. CA posts are typically 3–5 year contracts, renewable. The agency makes substantial use of CAST given its build-up phase.

Seconded national experts — serving officials from national labour inspectorates, social security institutions, and labour ministries apply through their national point of contact for 2–4 year deployments. National Liaison Officer posts are filled exclusively from national authorities under SNE arrangements and are a structural feature of the agency. The SNE route is a major channel for operations, mediation, and the European Platform tackling undeclared work. ELA's traineeship programme (paid 6–12 month placements) is advertised separately and is a realistic entry route for early-career candidates with a labour law or social-policy background.