Grievance Case Summary - G-662

The Grievor was transferred to a new location within his Division, as a result of which he decided to sell his home. Pursuant to the RCMP Integrated Relocation Program (IRP), the Grievor was entitled to seek various benefits in relation to the sale of his home. However, the home had to be sold within two years from the date he had received a transfer notice in writing in order to qualify for these benefits. This meant that his home had to be sold by August 21, 2009. The Grievor’s home was listed for sale in October 2008, and there were subsequently significant challenges in selling it which included difficult market conditions and, chiefly, an offer on the home that fell through shortly before the August 21, 2009 deadline. The Grievor eventually sold the home in December 2009. A relocation reviewer forwarded to the Respondent a business case arguing that the Grievor should receive benefits relating to the sale of his home even though he had missed the deadline, because his circumstances were exceptional. The Respondent denied that request.

The Grievor grieved the Respondent’s Decision. The Level I Adjudicator denied the grievance, finding that the Grievor was required to be aware of applicable time limits contained in the IRP, and that these time limits had been sufficiently brought to his attention.

While the Grievor argued that he had been confused by inconsistent communications from relocation staff regarding the applicable deadline to sell his home, the Record indicated that the Grievor had been sufficiently informed of the two-year time limit which applied in his case, and that he should have been aware of the fact that he had until August 21, 2009 to complete the sale of his home. That deadline was exceeded as his home had only been sold in December 2009. However, the ERC found that the Grievor’s unique situation met the definition of exceptional circumstances set out in the IRP. Difficult market conditions in and of themselves might not be reasonably characterized as exceptional. However, within the challenging market conditions that did exist, a sales agreement which would have met the applicable two year deadline fell through immediately prior to the expiry of that deadline. Further, there appears to have been uncertainty amongst the Relocation and Third Party Service Provider Staff assisting the Grievor at the time regarding when the deadline was, and they did not remind the Grievor of the imminent August 21, 2009 deadline as it approached nor of the consequences which would flow if the deal fell through. These combined circumstances were exceptional as they were outside the Grievor’s control and were rare, extreme and unforeseen.

The ERC concluded that the Respondent should have referred the Grievor’s Business Case to the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS), which had the authority to approve the request for reimbursement owing to exceptional circumstances pursuant to section 1.14.1 of the IRP. While the Respondent had communicated with the TBS with respect to the Grievor’s case after the grievance had been presented, those communications failed to convey any meaningful information concerning the Grievor’s exceptional circumstances.

The ERC recommended that the grievance be allowed. The ERC further recommended that the Commissioner order a review of the Grievor’s case to determine whether he still wishes to pursue approval for reimbursement of the relevant IRP expenses through the TBS and, if so, recommend that such a review include the preparation of a sufficiently detailed submission for those relevant expenses on an exceptional basis.

The Commissioner’s decision, as summarized by her office, is as follows:

The Grievor challenged the Respondent’s rejection of his request to extend the eligibility period for relocation benefits for the sale of his home beyond the two-year limit. The Commissioner accepts the ERC finding that the Respondent failed to convey the Grievor’s exceptional circumstances when he communicated with the Treasury Board Secretariat, and agrees that the grievance be allowed.