# 2025-008 Pay and Benefits, Entitlement to Annual Leave, Reserve Force

Case summary

F&R Date: 2025-12-12

The grievor is contesting the merit of having two benefit plans, one for those serving in the Regular Force (Reg F) and another for those serving in the Reserve Force (Res F). The grievor, a reservist, points out the inequity between the treatment of reservists in relation to members of the Reg F regarding annual leave. The grievor explains that he is entitled to a maximum of 24 days of annual leave, which is two days of leave for each 30-day period of continuous service, despite his 30 years of service, while a member of the Reg F is entitled to 30 days of annual leave for the same period of service. As redress, the grievor requests the right to benefit from the same annual leave system as his counterparts in the Reg F. In addition, the grievor requests that a reservist who has accumulated more than four years of full-time service and has served continuously be allowed to join the Reg F leave plan if certain criteria are met.

Given that it is impossible for the Initial Authority to adjudicate the grievance within the prescribed time limit, the grievor requested that the grievance be sent to the Final Authority (FA).

The Committee concluded that the grievor had not been aggrieved. The Committee explained that the benefits accorded to the members of the Reg F and the Res F often differ, based on the level of obligation and responsibility required for those who serve in the Canadian Armed Forces. The Committee concluded that the grievor had been treated in accordance with the policies in effect at the time of the grievance. However, the Committee noted that the leave policies had been updated on 1 April 2025 and now provide the same rights to annual leave to Res F members based on the number of completed years of full-time service in the Reserve, i.e., the total of all periods of Class B and C Reserve service completed by the member. Thus, the redress requested by the grievor has already been granted for leave entitlements from that date onward.

The Committee recommended that the FA not afford the grievor redress.