# 2011-096 Pay and Benefits, Leave Entitlement

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2011–10–19

The grievor who regularly volunteered his time to a civilian association over a period of 15 years while a member of the Canadian Forces (CF), objected to having been granted short leave for his activities. The grievor argued that his official leave record inaccurately represented the granting of a significant number of days of short leave to facilitate his functioning in a capacity that would have more appropriately been considered to earn short leave rather than expend it. Initially, the grievor sought resolution in the form of two days short leave and two days special leave (community affairs) per month, for the eight-month period prior to his retirement. The redress sought was later modified due to the time elapsed and the missed opportunity to grant leave prior to the grievor's release. The grievor subsequently requested redress for 15 years of mismanaged volunteer time either by cash settlement or preferably by way of an extension of his time in service.

The initial authority (IA) denied the grievance. The IA found that the grievor's participation in an outside affiliation was voluntary in nature and the granting of additional short leave for volunteer work performed outside of working hours did not satisfy the intent of short leave which is to compensate for long hours worked on duties assigned by one's chain of command, not volunteer work. With respect to special leave (community affairs), the IA found that while the grievor's work supported a professional community with a benefit to the CF, the work did not constitute support to the military dependant community or community in which CF members live as intended by that policy.

A synopsis prepared by a staff member of the Director General Canadian Forces Grievance Authority (DGCFGA) reiterated that short leave is not an entitlement and should not be expected for work of a voluntary nature that is not within the scope of one's duties. Although it was recognized that, given an amendment to the policy, the grievor's volunteer work met the definition of special leave (community affairs) from 2 April 2001 onwards, the synopsis explained that replacing short leave with special leave (community affairs) would have no impact on the grievor's retirement leave as neither type of leave is associated with an entitlement to annual leave; consequently, there is no justification to extend the grievor's time in service.

The Board reviewed all applicable policies and also found that replacing short leave with special leave would not affect the grievor's retirement date. The Board agreed that the grievance should be denied for the reasons set out in the DGCFGA synopsis.

The Board recommended that the grievance be denied.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Date: 2012–05–28

The FA agreed with the Board's recommendation that the grievance be denied.