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The UNAT noted that the staff member had telecommuted from his home country for the entire academic year. The UNAT found that payment of the educational grant required the physical presence of the staff member at their official duty station, with such payment to be suspended or adjusted for the period that they were telecommuting from outside the official duty station.

The UNAT held that it was not open to the staff member to rely on a defence that the Administration be estopped from relying on the applicable provisions in its interpretation of the circumstances under which the education...

Under the definition of fraud, the Tribunal observed that the question of the Applicant’s own benefit is not a required element to establish a finding of fraud. Rather, if found that by a misrepresentation, she intentionally deceived the 2017 and 2018 Staff Days and this actually or potentially caused prejudice to the 2017 and 2018 Staff Days, this is adequate.

The Tribunal found that, in the given circumstances, the Administration acted within the scope of its authority when finding that the Applicant had committed fraud. Accordingly, as per Asghar: (a) the Applicant misrepresented the...

Based on the applicable legal framework, the Administration can determine the status of eligibility of staff members in connection with dependency entitlements, which include dependent child allowance, and proceed to recover any amounts when a staff members fail to comply with their relevant obligations.

Pursuant to Annex III of ST/IC/2020/12, for a child of a staff member who is not the custodial parent or who has joint custody of the child, which is the case of the Applicant, the amount of payment to be eligible for a child dependency allowance should be at least the amount of the court...

The Tribunal recalled that staff rule 3.9(b) clearly requires that to be eligible for education grant, a staff member must "reside and serve" outside his or her home country. Based on the evidence on the record, the Tribunal established that the Applicant had telecommuted from his home country for the entire period of 2020-2021 academic year. On this score, the Applicant was not entitled to the education grant.

Regarding the Applicant’s contention that he had relied on an erroneous information provided to him by the Organization, the Tribunal found that there was no reliance on incorrect...

The Tribunal found that the refusal to pay the Applicant’staxes was lawfuland that the Administration was not liable for the delay in processingof the claim.

The Applicant’s own testimony undermined his claim of extenuatingcircumstances.Histestimony conclusively established thatthe Applicantdid not fileclaims for tax reimbursement in a timely manner because he mistakenly believed that he was not requiredto file and pay taxes to the United StatesGovernment uponexpiry of his permanent residence.His error came to light in August 2019, when the IRS placed alienon his bank account to...

The Tribunal found that the use of the investigation report was not subject to the confidentiality agreement between the parties; it was an autonomous document, which was lawfully used in court. The decision did not constitute a disciplinary measure. It was taken pending the completion of the disciplinary process and was without prejudice to the Applicant’s rights. More than one circumstance warranting the placement of the staff member on ALWP occurred. The Applicant could be dismissed or separated from service with the United Nations for breach of the duty of trust and confidence, in...

UNAT held that UNDT properly determined that the issue before it was the failure of the Administration to address the Appellant’s formal complaint. UNAT held that there was no error of law or failure to exercise jurisdiction on the part of UNDT with regard to the Appellant’s request for an investigation. UNAT held that it was satisfied that the award by UNDT of USD 40,000 constituted sufficient satisfaction for the Appellant. UNAT held that UNDT correctly refused to entertain the request for compensation for economic loss because the Appellant’s separation from service was not the subject of...

UNAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General and a cross-appeal by Ms Johnson. UNAT agreed with UNDT’s analysis and held that the decision to deny the staff member a refund of the US income tax on her salary and emoluments was unlawful. UNAT recalled that the US grants foreign tax credits in respect of income tax paid by one of its nationals or permanent residents to another State to relieve the effects of double taxation. UNAT held that the exclusion of such credits as payment would not only contravene the principle of equality of treatment among staff members if staff members from the...

UNAT held that UNDT had correctly found that the determination made by the Programme OiC, namely that the application for sabbatical leave should not be forwarded to the Committee, was not within the Programme OiC’s power. UNAT held that UNDT had correctly concluded that the decision made by the Programme OiC was in breach of the Appellant’s terms of employment “specifically, his right to have his application forwarded to the Committee and the [Assistant Secretary-General], OHRM”. UNAT held that UNDT had properly observed that an “incomplete application may therefore be one which is missing...

UNAT held that UNDT did not err in fact or law in its determination that the applicable Information Circular did not entitle the Appellant to an EOSA, nor was it contrary to a higher legal norm. UNAT noted that the facts of the case showed that her resignation did not fulfil the conditions required by the quoted circular. UNAT specifically noted how the resignation was taken knowing the risks involved and caused the break in service, which determined the ineligibility for collecting the allowance claimed for, acknowledging that the Appellant was requesting an exception from the regulations to...