#2018-014 Careers, Promotion, Reserve Force

Case Summary

F&R Date: 2018–05–18

The grievor, who had been placed on a permanent medical category (PCat), believed that he should have been promoted. He argued that he met all the criteria for promotion and that, with the release of Canadian Forces General Message 012/17 which de-linked promotions from medical categories, being on a PCat no longer barred him from promotion.

The Initial Authority found that although the grievor met the time in rank and qualification criteria for promotion, he was not ranked high enough on the merit list to be promoted.

The Committee found that the grievor’s personnel evaluation reports contained promotion recommendations of “developing” and “ready” whereas those ranked higher on the merit list were recommended for “immediate” promotion. The Committee concluded that, although the grievor was a steady performer, his performance was not equal to the top performers such that it warranted promotion, given the limited number of promotions available. The Committee recommended that the grievance be denied. 

FA Decision Summary

The Chief of the Defence Staff, as the Final Authority (FA), determined that the grievor had been treated fairly and in accordance with the applicable policies. The FA did not grant redress.

The FA highlighted that the Master Corporal rank is an appointment, and found that the grievor did not meet the prerequisites for appointment, regardless of his medical category. The FA did not find evidence to support the grievor’s contention that his Personal Evaluation Report (PER) scores were affected by a disability. The FA also noted that the grievor ought to have raised issues regarding discrimination and his PER scores at the time they occurred.