# 2021-126 Pay and Benefits, Overpayment, Recovery of overpayment

Case summary

F&R Date: 2022-06-14

The grievor experienced a number of pay adjustments caused by the implementation of Specialist (Spec) pay for the Army Communications Information Systems Specialist (ACISS) occupation, resulting in an overpayment. The grievor argued that there was too much delay in achieving his entitlement to Spec pay in the Land Communications and Information Systems Technician (LCIS Tech), and that Spec pay in the grievor's new trade had been improperly recovered and not returned. The grievor requested an amended 2017 T4 to remove the overpayment, receipt of Specpay they had not received, and to have their Spec pay entitlement reassessed under the LCIS occupation.

The Initial Authority (IA) found that the grievor, as a former LCIS Tech lacking the proper qualifications in that occupation, was not entitled to Spec pay in the ACISS occupation in accordance with the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) Order 046/17. The IA also found that the Income Tax Act and the Canada Revenue Agency control the conditions of payment and the reimbursement of taxes and therefore determined that she did not have the authority to amend the grievor's 2017 T4.

The Committee found that the grievor had been aggrieved by the mismanagement of his pay and by the lack of clarity surrounding the adjustments made to his pay account. The Committee determined that the grievor was not unduly delayed in achieving the qualification necessary for entitlement to Spec pay in the LCIS Tech occupation. The Committee also found that the IA misinterpreted the CDS Order 046/17 and that the grievor met the requirements for entitlement to Spec pay in the ACISS occupation upon achieving the required qualifications. Through analysis of pay documents provided, the Committee found that the grievor had not been paid this ACISS Spec pay. The Committee also found that the grievor had been re-paid the Spec pay that had been recovered in their new trade, but that the Canadian Armed Forces applied it to reduce the debt that was owed by the grievor. The Committee recommended that an audit be conducted to confirm that the grievor received their ACISS Spec pay entitlement, and that an amended T4 form be provided to account for the overpayment in 2017.

FA decision summary

The Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority agrees with the Committee's findings and recommendation. He directed that Directorate Military Pay & Accounts Processing take the necessary actions to ensure that the grievor receive his ACISS Spec 1 pay entitlement for the period in question, and he receives an amended T4 for 2017 to account for the overpayment he received during that year.