# 2013-023 Careers, Pilot, Promotion, Voluntary Occupational Transfer (VOT)

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2013–07–31

The grievor was accepted into the Continuing Education Officer Training Plan in April 2007 and was commissioned as an Officer Cadet (OCdt) in his occupation, with an enter promotion zone date of 30 April 2010. He completed his basic officer training in December 2007 and was promoted to Second Lieutenant (2Lt). In July 2009, the grievor was accepted for a voluntary occupation transfer to the Pilot occupation. However, while awaiting the start of Pilot training, he continued his duties in his previous occupation until July 2010. From July to October 2010, he attended and completed his Phase I Pilot Training course. He was later informed that there was an error in his original rank change instruction message, resulting in the amending of his enter promotion zone date from April to December 2010 to reflect the date he completed basic officer training. He then filed a grievance, alleging that his voluntary occupation transfer had been mismanaged. As remedy, he requested that his enter promotion zone date be amended to 30 April 2010, that his voluntary occupation transfer date be amended to July 2010, and that he be promoted to Captain (Capt) effective his original enter promotion zone date of 30 April 2010.

The Director General Military Careers (DGMC), the Initial Authority, denied the grievance on the basis that the grievor was ineligible for promotion to Capt on his amended enter promotion zone date. The DGMC explained that the original date had to be corrected because the grievor completed his basic officer training in December 2007 and, to be policy compliant, the promotion date to 2Lt could not precede that date. As such, the grievor's commissioning date became December 2007, his enter promotion zone date for Lieutenant became December 2008 and his enter promotion zone date to Capt became December 2010. The DGMC also stated that in July 2009 when he transferred to the Pilot occupation, the grievor would have been aware that he could not be promoted to Capt until he had achieved his wings standard.

The Committee agreed that the original enter promotion zone date had to be amended to correct an administrative error, and found that the correct enter promotion zone date was 14 December 2010 and that the grievor was not eligible for promotion to Capt on either the original or amended enter promotion zone dates as he had not yet achieved his wings standard. The Committee also agreed with the DGMC that in July 2009, the grievor would have been aware of the promotion implications of accepting a transfer offer to Pilot. The Committee was not convinced that the grievor was unaware of the delays in the Pilot training pipeline or that he would not have known that he would be eligible for promotion only after he had completed his qualification training as a Pilot. The Committee further observed that a one-year delay between the grievor's voluntary occupation transfer date of July 2009 and his Phase I Pilot training in July 2010 was not unusual. The Committee found no evidence that the grievor's voluntary occupation transfer was mismanaged and recommended that the Chief of the Defence Staff deny the grievance.

CDS Decision Summary

CDS Decision Date: 2013–11–28

The FA agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendation that the grievance be denied.