UNDT/2010/011, Castelli
Outcome: The respondent is to pay interest from the date the payment of the relocation grant became due, namely 4 May 2008, and until payment at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.
Outcome: The respondent is to pay interest from the date the payment of the relocation grant became due, namely 4 May 2008, and until payment at the rate of 8 per cent per annum.
Outcome: The application was dismissed in its entirety.
A judgment in which it is decided that the summary dismissal of the Applicant was wrongful calls for a rescission of the said sanction. The Applicant had a reasonable expectation that he would remain in service beyond the date of his wrongful summary dismissal. The Tribunal refuses the request that the Applicant ought to be compensated on a P5 scale and agrees with the Respondent’s argument that such an award would be merely speculative. A summary dismissal is the most severe sanction that the Respondent may impose on a staff member for serious misconduct. Judicial notice is taken of the fact...
Performance evaluation: The Respondent followed the UNFPA Personnel Policy guidelines for the rebuttal process by having a review of the Applicant’s appraisal by the Management Review Group (MRG) which conducted at least two reviews. However, since the second review was completed with insufficient time for the Applicant to submit a written statement of agreement to the Head of Office, wait for a response and then submit a written rebuttal, if necessary, the Respondent breached UNFPA policy requirements and the right to due process. The Applicant had a mandated right as a dissatisfied staff...
Placing the Applicant on SLWFP. The Tribunal agrees with and adopts the Kamunyi reasoning that former staff rule 105.2 did not permit placing a staff member on SLWFP where an investigation was being made into possible wrong-doing by that staff member. The formal nature of the OIOS/PTF investigation. A preliminary investigation under ST/AI/371, sec. 2, is differentiated from a formal investigation under ST/AI/371, sec. 6, as occupying different places within the overall structure of ST/AI/371. For an investigation to be regarded as merely preliminary in nature, some “reason to believe” must...
Scope of the case. The Applicant’s claims of harassment, sexual harassment and abuse of authority presented to the JAB were not independent claims in and of themselves, but merely constituted support for the Applicant’s contention that her due process rights had been violated in the context of the non-renewal and non-extension. Considering the posture of the case presented to the JAB and on review by the Dispute Tribunal, the Tribunal is without authority to re-examine the investigation into the Applicant’s sexual harassment charges. Exceptional case. With respect to the determination whether...
Likelihood of being offered a new contract: The Applicant did not just lose a chance of being considered for a new position; rather, it was only reasonable to assume that the Applicant would have been offered a new contract, had UNICEF properly complied with its own rules. Length of a new contract: Had UNICEF fulfilled its obligations, the Applicant would have been offered a new contract as a two-year fixed-term appointment. Possible renewal: It could not be assumed that, had the Applicant been offered a new contract, then this contract would automatically have been renewed indefinitely—the...
The Tribunal awarded: (a) two years’ net base salary at the P-5 level and step which she had at the date of the non-extension of her appointment on 31 March 2010, plus the applicable post adjustment and the value of any quantifiable monetary entitlements and benefits to which she would have been entitled, plus the amount corresponding to the contributions that the Organization would have made to the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund and to a sum which represents the difference between what she would have paid in medical insurance at the United Nations and the medical insurance she...
Outcome: The Applicant’s claim relating to the non-renewal of contract was not receivable (time-barred) and his claim for reimbursement of salary was rejected for lack of evidence. The Respondent was ordered to remove the note from the Applicant’s file and pay the Applicant six months’ net base salary for the breach of due process rights and the effect of the note on his career.
UNDT held that the Applicants may amend their request for compensation as, in Order No. 104 (NY/2011) specifically called for updated submissions on compensation, under which UNDT thus granted leave for the Applicants’ amended submissions. UNDT denied the compensation request for loss of opportunity to pursue the new P-4 level post created in ORES, as the Applicants did not present any evidence supporting their contention that they were denied this opportunity. UNDT awarded compensation for loss of chance/opportunity. UNDT listed the following significant factors: (a) the existence of numerous...