# 2019-053 Pay and Benefits, Canadian Forces Temporary Duty Travel Instruction

Case summary

F&R Date: 2019-09-25

The grievor was selected to escort cadets to France for “Vimy Trek 2017”. Prior to the trip, he received an email from his Deputy Commanding Officer advising him that he would be on duty during the trip and would be entitled to claim temporary duty (TD) benefits for any expenses not covered by the organizers of the trip. However, after returning from the trip, the National Cadet and Junior Rangers Support Group advised that the grievor was not entitled to TD benefits and that he should have been required to take annual leave for the trip as he was considered to be a volunteer escort. The grievor contended that it was unfair to change the conditions of his service during Vimy Trek after the trip and requested reimbursement of his TD expenses.

The Initial Authority found that it was unfortunate that the grievor had been misinformed of his entitlements prior to the trip but found that he had been treated fairly and denied redress.

The Committee found that, in accordance with the Canadian Forces Temporary Duty Travel Instructions, the grievor had been authorized to undertake duty travel by an approving authority, in writing, in advance of the travel. Consequently, the Committee found that the grievor is entitled to be reimbursed for his TD expenses and recommended that the Final Authority (FA) afford the grievor redress.

FA decision summary

The FA, the Director Canadian Forces Grievance Authority, partially agreed with the Committee's findings and recommendations. The FA agreed with the Committee that the grievor was on TD when acting as an escort on the cadet trip at issue as a Regular Force member. However, the FA found that the approval authority for the TD at issue was the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff rather than an authority in the grievor's unit. As a remedy in the grievance process, the FA ordered that the grievor be reimbursed for TD-related expenses not already covered.