# 2017-169 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Forces Superannuation Act

Case summary

F&R Date: 2018-10-23

In 2016, the grievor sought an offer of an Intermediate Engagement of 20 years (IE20), with retroactive effect to a date prior to 1 May 2005. He claimed that his Commanding Officer (CO) in 2005 had directed that an IE20 be offered to all eligible members of the unit, including himself, before the implementation of a new Terms of Service scheme on 1 May 2005, but that a clerical error resulted in his file being overlooked by the unit's administrative staff. The Director Military Careers Administration (DMCA) denied the request stating that, given the current policy framework, he had no authority to retroactively offer an IE20 to the grievor.

The Initial Authority found that the grievor had submitted his grievance outside of the prescribed time limit and took no further action. The Final Authority (FA) accepted to consider the grievance in the interest of justice.

The Committee found that DMCA's decision was policy compliant. Still, it considered the fairness of the decision, recognizing that there may be extenuating circumstances that could justify remedying an omission or a decision which leads to significant and unintended consequences, such as the pension implications of this case. While the Committee found that the evidence shows that his CO did intend to offer the grievor an IE20, the fact that he accepted other “non-IE20” Terms of Service in 2011 and has sinced voluntarily released from the Regular Forces prior to reaching 20 years of continuous service, made this an academic issue. As the Committee was unable to identify any other consequence of the failure to offer him an IE20, it recommended denying the grievance.

FA decision summary

The FA concurred with the Committee. He found that the grievor should have been aware of the issue in 2005, and even if not then, when he signed new terms of service in 2011, and denied redress.