# 2015-196 - Door-to-Door Move, Interim Lodging, Meals and Incidentals (ILM&I)

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2015–12–30

The grievor requested a residential housing unit (RHU) on posting and was told three would be available on or around his change of strength (COS) date. The unit he was allocated was not available until nearly six weeks after his COS date. The grievor's request that the additional costs he incurred be covered as interim lodging, meals and miscellaneous (ILM&M) expenses was denied on the basis that he had initially been offered a RHU with an earlier possession date but had chosen to wait for a specific unit. The grievor argued that he was never offered a RHU with an earlier possession date.

The Director General Compensation and Benefits, acting as the Initial Authority, denied the grievance, pointing out that it was the grievors responsibility to coordinate a door-to-door move and that the grievor's personal choice to wait for a specific unit was the cause of the delay.

The Committee first investigated the dispute regarding whether the grievor refused an offer for an RHU and found that the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (CFHA) staff had led the chain of command to believe that such an offer had been made, but in fact no such offer was made to the grievor.

The Committee then found that the grievor should have been offered the earlier possession unit, and that had that occurred, he would not have required any additional ILM&M beyond what the Director Compensation and Benefits had already granted to him. Noting that the CFHA staff had failed to follow its own Manual of Instruction and Guidance for making an offer of housing to CAF members, the Committee concluded that the grievor had been deprived of an offer for a RHU available nearly a month before his. As a consequence, the grievor was not responsible for the failure to achieve a door-to-door move.

The Committee recommended that redress be granted and that the additional ILM&M expenses incurred by the grievor be reimbursed due to circumstances beyond his control.

FA Decision Summary

The CDS agreed with the Committee's finding that CFHA failed to follow the proper policies and procedures. As a result, the CDS agreed with the Committee's recommendation that the grievor's ILM&M expenses be reimbursed.