# 2020-178 Pay and Benefits, House-hunting trip

Case summary

F&R Date: 2021-06-07

The grievor challenged the decision to deny him reimbursement for transportation, accommodation and meals during his house-hunting trip (HHT). He claimed that he had been misinformed and misled by Brookfield Global Relocation Services (BGRS), which led him to make the claims for reimbursement to which he was not entitled and which he had to pay back.  

The Initial Authority (IA) analyzed the recording of the telephone conversations between BGRS and the grievor. The IA confirmed that although there appeared to have been misunderstandings between the parties, those conversations had no impact on the expenses eligible for reimbursement, as only the Canadian Forces Integrated Relocation Program (CFIRP) Directive can establish what the grievor is eligible to claim reimbursement for. The IA noted that the grievor was not authorized to take a HHT for every day requested and that he had received the entire amount from the customized envelope, therefore he could not be reimbursed for multiple HHTs.

The Committee determined that the grievor had received authorization to make a HHT, but that in reality he had made a HHT outside of the approved dates, contrary to the advice received from BGRS and to the provisions of the CFIRP Directive. That did not correspond to the normal HHT provided for in the Directive.         

The Committee determined that the refusal to reimburse the grievor for the majority of the relocation expenses related to his HHT was justified, with the exception of certain accommodation expenses.  

FA decision summary

The Director of the Canadian Armed Forces Grievance Authority, Final Authority (FA), agreed with the Committee's recommendation to partially grant redress. The FA concluded that the right to reclaim HHT expenses is limited to the expenses during the dates of one normal HHT for up to seven days, as per the Canadian Forces Integrated Relocation Program directive. Prior research on separate dates cannot be interpreted as multiple HHTs. The FA authorized the reimbursement of one additional accommodation fee during the normal HHT.