The right to dependent child allowance and school allowance ends when the child completes their studies. But when do studies actually end ? On the last day of class, on the last exam day, when the child is informed of their success, at the official end of the school or academic year (July 5 for European Schools), or at the beginning of the next school or academic year (early September)?

For PMO, studies ended on the day of the last exam, and allowances were no longer paid for the following month. They would reopen the right to allowances if the child did not pass and had to retake exams in September or repeat the year.

For many years, Union Syndicale has opposed this practice, arguing that studies only end when results are announced. It would even be fairer to use the announcement of the results from the second session (September) to avoid disadvantaging colleagues whose children pass the June exams.

The Tribunal recently clarified this in its ruling on a case supported by Union Syndicale (Case T-123/23)

In this ruling dated June 5, 2024, the Tribunal reminds that the dependent child allowance (Article 2 of Annex VII of Staff Regulations) is granted for “the child […] who receives school or vocational training” and that the school allowance (Article 3 of Annex VII) is granted for “each dependent child as defined in Article 2 […] regularly attending a full-time educational establishment […]”.

The Tribunal then analyzes what is meant by “training” for the granting of the dependent child allowance: “In this regard, it should be noted that ‘training’ consists of several stages such as attending the courses provided by the study program, taking the exams on these courses, the evaluation of these exams, and upon completion of the last of these exams, the provision by the educational institution of the final results certifying successful completion. These stages are inseparable from each other since taking the exams allows for the evaluation of the student’s acquisition of the skills and knowledge taught during the courses.”

Thus, it is only after the provision of the exam results that the training is considered complete and the right to the dependent child allowance ends.

The Tribunal follows the same logic for the school allowance, concluding that the child attends their educational institution until the end of their studies, which is the provision of the exam results.

Unfortunately, the Tribunal considers that there is no unequal treatment whether children complete their studies in June or September and refuses to automatically grant the allowances until September.

However, for most colleagues whose children take their last exam in June and receive their results in July, this ruling is excellent news.