# 2021-144 Pay and Benefits, Recovery of Overpayment

Case summary

F&R Date: 2022-08-04

Upon enrolment in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), the grievor was paid at an incorrect rank level until the error was found approximately seven years later. This error caused an overpayment of approximately $150,000, for which the grievor was ordered to repay $100,000. The grievor argued that as a new CAF member, there was no reason to suspect a pay error, noting that their pay had remained constant, and the error had gone undetected by several orderly rooms over the years. The Initial Authority recognized that the grievor was not personally responsible but determined that there was an obligation for the grievor to return the overpayment.

The Committee found that the CAF had negligently mismanaged the grievor's pay account for seven years following the grievor's enrolment, and that recovery of the overpayment would significantly impact the grievor. The Committee referred to the “Guide to Debt Deletion” published by the Treasury Board Secretariat and found that recovery in the grievor's circumstances met the criteria of “unreasonable, unjust or not in the public interest”. The Committee noted that the Chief of the Defence Staff currently lacks the authority and ability to remedy the error, and recommended that the CAF seek remission of the debt through a submission to the Treasury Board under the Financial Administration Act subsection 23(2.1). Alternatively, the Committee recommended that the grievor's file be referred to the Director of Claims and Civil Litigation for consideration.