Case # 2012-048

Accuracy of Information by Recruiters, Pay, Reserve

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2012–07–26

The grievor enrolled in the Reserve Entry Training Plan (RETP) as an Officer Cadet (OCdt) after being advised by a Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre (CFRC) that he would be paid as a Second Lieutenant (2Lt) while undergoing military training or duty. However, subsequent to enrolment, he was advised that he would only be paid at the rank of OCdt. The grievor indicated that he had decided to enrol in the RETP specifically because the 2Lt pay rate would allow him to be financially self-sufficient and able to pay for his education and living expenses. The grievor sought to be paid at the 2Lt rate of pay on the basis that it was promised to him on enrolment.

The issue before the Board was whether the grievor ultimately received the appropriate rate of pay for his military training and, if so, whether the grievor suffered an injustice when the Canadian Forces (CF) failed to follow through on the promised rate of pay.

The initial authority, the Director General Compensation and Benefits, denied redress finding that an OCdt pay scale did exist at the time the grievor was enrolled and that he could not receive a pay level for a rank to which he had not been promoted.

The Board found that Canadian Forces Administrative Order (CFAO) 9-49, RETP, indicated that pay would be at the rank of 2Lt but the Board also observed that this provision was put into effect at a time when there was no OCdt pay rate for Reservists. Further, the CFAO 9-49 provision for pay at the rank of 2Lt had been superseded several years prior to the grievor’s enrolment by the creation of a Reserve OCdt pay scale. Therefore, the Board found that the grievor was correctly paid at the rank of OCdt.

The Board then examined the issue of the breaking of the promise made to the grievor by the CFRC upon enrolment. The Board found that the grievor’s treatment in this regard represented a breach of contract by the CF for having failed to keep its promise to pay the grievor at the 2Lt pay rate. A remedy of monetary compensation was considered to be both appropriate and available.

The Board recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) grant partial redress.

The Board further recommended that the CDS acknowledge the error that led to a breach of the grievor’s offer of enrolment and consider providing financial redress through any mechanism available to him within the grievance process. In the alternate, the Board recommended that the CDS refer the file to the Director Claims and Civil Litigation along with his support and explanations, for review as a potential claim for breach of contract.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Pending