UNDT/2010/143, Samuel Tambiah
The application was withdrawn by the Applicant.
The application was withdrawn by the Applicant.
Outcome: On the balance of probabilities it appears that the applicant was unable to perform his duties at an adequate level and the most significant cause of this situation was not lack of training or assistance, but his own attitude. In fairness to the applicant, more should have been done to help his transition from his outside employment to the requirements of his new employment. In light of the rebuttal process being made available to the applicant, he did not suffer any actual detriment from the lack of an ePAS and had the benefit of a rebuttal process. The application is dismissed in...
The Tribunal held that the presence of bad faith in some of the Respondent’s actions concerning the Applicant stood out in bold relief. There was no doubt that the bad blood between the Applicant and her immediate supervisor created a ripple effect and alienated her from the Chief of ICTS. The testimony on why and how the recruitment process for VA 421846 had to be overhauled clearly reflected a blatant manipulation of the selection process set out in ST/AI/2006/3; a subversion and clear breach of United Nations Staff Rules. The Applicant did not make out a case with regard to her allegations...
Prima facie unlawfulness Having reviewed the Applicant’s performance evaluations, the Tribunal had doubts as to whether the Applicant’s direct supervisors were indeed consulted before the lieutenants finalized and gave to the Applicant the performance evaluation forms on 9 June 2011. Absent an explanation from the Respondent on this particular point, these doubts had a direct impact on the lawfulness of the contested decision. If indeed the Administration did not follow its accepted and reasonable practice, the decision not to extend the Applicant’s appointment due to his poor performance...
The UNDT found that OHRM’s decision not to consider (endorse) her for a temporary P-3 post in DM (Umoja) and to deny her conversion from the FS-6 level to the P-3 level was valid and lawful. The decision not to consider the applicant eligible for a temporary P-3 post was correct since she only fulfilled one of the mandatory and cumulative conditions – five years of professional experience – in November 2011. The Organization properly determined that the Applicant could not be converted from the FS-6 level to the P-3 level because there was no contractual relationship between the Applicant and...
Receivability - The Tribunal accepted that the extended use of the temporary appointments was the reason for the disparity in the amount of relocation grant that the Applicant was entitled to and that this negatively affected the Applicant. This however was the subject of a settlement agreement between the parties. Further, in this Application the Applicant was effectively asking the Tribunal to find that the Rules on relocation grant for temporary employees are unlawful. Those rules were based on resolutions of the General Assembly. Pursuant to art. 2 of the UNDT Statute the Tribunal’s...
Receivability - The Tribunal accepted that the extended use of the temporary appointments was the reason for the disparity in the amount of relocation grant that the Applicant was entitled to and that this negatively affected the Applicant. This however was the subject of a settlement agreement between the parties. Further, in this Application the Applicant was effectively asking the Tribunal to find that the Rules on relocation grant for temporary employees are unlawful. Those rules were based on resolutions of the General Assembly. Pursuant to art. 2 of the UNDT Statute the Tribunal’s...
The administrative instruction ST/AI/2011/6 (Mobility allowance), which superseded ST/AI/2007/1 (Mobility allowance), was applicable to the Applicant’s request for mobility allowance submitted in January 2012. ST/AI/2011/6 included the requirement of five years of continuous service in the United Nations common system, which in the present case was not fulfilled. The Tribunal found that the Applicant was not eligible because she did not meet one of the requirements for payment of the mobility allowance, namely five years of continuous service in the United Nations common system.
Administration’s discretion in constituting interview panels for temporary appointments - It is within the discretion of the Administration as to how the interview panel for a temporary position is constituted as long as the composition of the said panel is consistent with the requirements of ST/AI/201/4/Rev. 1.