# 2017-112 Careers, Promotion

Case summary

F&R Date: 2018-02-27

The grievor contested not being promoted despite an available vacancy and her position as next in line for promotion.  The grievor alleged that the Career Manager (CM) advised her that she was not promoted because there was no service requirement and because she had been involved in an interpersonal conflict with her supervisor and was not ready for promotion.

The Director General Military Careers, acting as the Initial Authority (IA), found that the CM, the Deputy Commanding Officer and the Trade Advisor had discussed the situation and determined that there was no military requirement to fill the vacant position in question. The IA discounted the other reasons alleged by the grievor for not being promoted.

The Committee contacted the CM and the Trade Advisor for further information on why the grievor had not been promoted. The CM confirmed his previous statement that there was no military requirement to promote, and denied the grievor's allegation of the real reason she was not promoted.  However, the Trade Advisor indicated that, due to the interpersonal conflict she had with her supervisor, the grievor was not considered to possess the necessary skills to be promoted. Therefore, a decision was made to delay for a year before filling the vacant position.

The Committee first noted that the grievor's interpersonal conflict with her supervisor was in fact a harassment complaint she had lodged against him. The supervisor was eventually removed from the position although the complaint did not appear to have been formally investigated.  

Based on the Trade Advisor's confirmation, the Committee found that he and the CM had discussed the possibility of promoting the grievor into the vacant position and that, for reasons having nothing to do with the military requirement, they decided that the grievor was not deserving of promotion. 

The Committee considered the grievor's strong record of annual performance appraisals and her position as next in line for promotion and concluded that all necessary conditions for promotion had been met during the timeframe of the vacancy in question.  The Committee recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff direct the promotion of grievor retroactive to the date in question.