Grievance Case Summary - G-728

On February 10, 2010, the Grievor submitted a form for duty travel fees containing claims for meals during several shifts. One of these claims was for the reimbursement of fees incurred by the Grievor on February 6, 2010, including breakfast. The Grievor was working an overtime shift from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. On February 16, 2010, the Respondent refused to authorize the reimbursement of the breakfast, simply indicating that [translation] "you are not entitled to your first meal on February 6." The residual amount that was not authorized by the Respondent for breakfast was $6.89. It must be noted that the two other meals, lunch and dinner, claimed for that day were authorized.

The Level I Adjudicator denied the grievance because the Grievor was a shift worker and had to be reimbursed according to the meal sequence set out in section 3.2.9 of the Treasury Board Travel Directive. The Adjudicator added that shift workers were responsible for having their breakfast in preparation for their shift. Since the Grievor had already collected the amount to which he was eligible, the Adjudicator denied the grievance.

The ERC found that the Grievor, as a shift worker, was eligible to be reimbursed for his meals during travel outside his headquarters area or when he worked overtime hours. However, the RCMP Travel Policy indicates that members must have breakfast before beginning their shift. The ERC found that, even though the Grievor worked overtime hours, he had to have breakfast at his own expense and be reimbursed for the following meals, depending on the length of his shift.

The ERC recommended that the grievance be denied.

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

[Translation]

The Grievor worked shifts for which he then claimed meal expenses. These claims were denied by the Respondent, which led the Grievor to file five grievances. The ERC found that the five grievances should be allowed, but only with respect to the claims involving shifts longer than 10 hours for which the Grievor claimed a second meal. In all the other cases, namely the claims submitted for shifts where the Grievor only claimed one meal, the ERC found that the Grievor was only entitled to the dinner rate, which he seems to have already received. The Commissioner shares the ERC's opinion and accepts the ERC's recommendation that the grievances should be allowed in part.