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UNAT noted that there was no dispute that the Appellant was designated by the Director of OCHA Geneva as Officer-in-Charge (OiC) of the Financial and Administrative Unit, following the reassignment of the holder of the post (a P-5 post) to other functions. UNAT held that UNDT had properly determined that the transfer of the P-5 holder “with his post’’ had the effect that there remained no “vacant’’ or “temporarily vacant’’ post against which the Appellant, albeit performing the functions of the post holder, could point to for the purposes of making the case for payment of a SPA. UNAT held that...

UNAT held that a SPA can only be granted if the conditions of ST/AI/1999/17 are met, inter alia, that the staff member has been assigned to and discharged the full functions of a post which has been both classified and budgeted at a higher level, and that these prerequisites were not met. UNAT held that the denial of the ex gratia payment was lawful. UNAT held that the Administration did not commit any errors in exercising its discretion. UNAT held that the denial of an ex gratia payment did not violate the principle of equal pay for equal value and did not constitute discrimination. UNAT held...

UNAT held that UNDT’s language, which was strongly critical of the Appellant, was unwarranted. UNAT held that UNDT did not err in finding that the decision to discontinue the payment of her SPA was a legitimate exercise of the Administration’s discretion, as the Appellant no longer met the requirements for it. UNAT held that the discontinuation of the SPA was justified in view of the Administration’s obligation and right to correct such an erroneous situation. UNAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the UNDT judgment.

1998 reclassification: The issue of the 1998 reclassification exercise is long out of time and no circumstances justify the review of it now. 2005 reclassification: Examining the 2005 reclassification exercise is moot as the post was abolished and the applicant did not challenge the abolition. Withdrawal of SPA: In relation to the period for which the applicant’s SPA was withdrawn, it would be reasonable to expect a notation of a change in functions in the e-PAS records as there was a crossover between two cycles. However, there was none and the SPA should thus be retroactively paid...

The Tribunal finds that the restructuring constituted a valid exercise of the Respondent’s discretionary authority, that the Applicant’s post was not abolished as he was in fact reassigned against the same budgeted post, and that his reassignment was lawful. Definition of a “post”: A “post” may be defined as the financial authorization given for a job to be performed, irrespective of the fact that it may be funded through budgetary or extra budgetary sources. Discretion of the Secretary-General in the organization of work: The Secretary-General enjoys broad discretion in the organization of...

The Tribunal found that the application was receivable ratione temporis but rejected it on the merits, on the ground that the post whose functions the Applicant carried out was not vacant or temporarily vacant within the meaning of ST/AI/1999/17. The Tribunal further rejected the Applicant’s request for moral damages. Receivability ratione temporis: The serious health problem suffered by the Applicant constituted an exceptional circumstance justifying the delay in filing his application. The short period of time between the end of his sick leave and the filing of his application shows that the...

The Tribunal found that most of the Applicant’s claims were time barred and that those which were not time barred were without merit. It was found that UNON had paid the Applicant’s SPA for the periods when he was entitled to it and that he no longer had any legitimate claims for SPA against UNON. Employment Contract: A contract of employment is personal between the employee in each case and the employer. The terms of one’s employment as stipulated in the letter of appointment or contract of employment is binding in personam between staff member and the organization and one cannot seek to...

Decisions (a) and (b) are found not receivable and decision (c) is found to be unfounded. The Tribunal also finds that the Applicant’s request for management evaluation (MEU request) included a request for SPA which was not addressed by the Organization. The Applicant did not pursue the applicable procedure established in ST/AI/1998/9. In the absence of an actual administrative decision denying a request for reclassification, the application against the continuous refusal to reclassify his post from the P-4 level to the P-5 level is not receivable.The Applicant’s MEU request indicated that he...

With respect to the issue of classification of the Applicants’ post at the S-3 level, the UNDT found that the Applicants’ claims regarding the Administration’s decision not to proceed with their classification request were receivable. However, based on the evidence in this case—including oral testimony as well as contemporaneous documents—the Applicants did not perform the same exact functions as their S-3 level colleagues. Accordingly, the UNDT found that the Administration’s decision not to proceed with the classification or reclassification of the Applicants’ posts at the S-3 level was...

The Tribunal found that a final decision had been taken on 27 September 2013 by the Registrar and notified to the Applicant on 14 October 2013 and that by filing a request for management evaluation only on 23 June 2014, the application was irreceivable, ratione materiae.