Judgment No. 294
Decision
The appeal is allowed, the decision of the Director-General of 15 April 1976 is quashed and it is ordered that the Director-General take such steps as are necessary to ensure that:
1. The complainant is treated as if on 1 February 1975 she had been at step XIV in grade G.6 for a period of five months, and
2. Each intervener is treated in the same way in accordance with his or her length of service in the grade and contingent upon certification of satisfactory service in the usual manner.
Consideration 9
Extract:
"[T]he principle of equality of treatment is an implied condition of employment and the introduction of an amendment which fails to observe it is a breach of that condition."
Keywords
general principle; equal treatment; terms of appointment
Consideration 7
Extract:
The Director-General "is under an obligation to use his powers so as to ensure that an amendment authorised by the Council does not in its application result in inequality of treatment which the Council cannot be supposed to have intended."
Keywords
competence; equal treatment; staff regulations and rules; amendment to the rules; executive head
Consideration 7
Extract:
"It is of course inevitable that, if a salary scale has a maximum figure, there can be no further reward for length of service after the maximum has been reached. Whether this is fair or not [...], it is the same for all."
Keywords
enforcement; top step; seniority; salary; scale
Consideration 8
Extract:
The complainant reached the highest step in her grade some years ago. An amendment was adopted introducing three new steps in her grade. She should obtain the successive increments on the date at which she fulfilled the requisite conditions. The Director-General should take steps to ensure that a) the complainant is treated as if at the time the modification was implemented she had been at step XIV for a period of five months and b) each intervener is treated in the same way, according to length of service.
Keywords
effective date; staff regulations and rules; amendment to the rules; enforcement; grade; top step; increment; date
Consideration 8
Extract:
At issue is a new salary schedule with additional steps in the complainant's grade. "The Director-General was right in thinking that the rule could not be interpreted in a way that would equalise the effect of the change. Where he was wrong was in thinking that he had neither the power nor the duty to equalise the effect of the change by some other means consistent with the principle that the object of the salary scale is to reward length of service and experience. [...] The change [...] required some transitional provision to cover exceptional cases and it was the duty of the Director-General to make such provision."
Keywords
equal treatment; amendment to the rules; enforcement; grade; top step; increment; seniority; salary; scale; right
Consideration 6
Extract:
"it is unnecessary to determine whether the council's decision automatically amended the rule to which the old salary schedule was attached... it is not to be expected that the council would itself consider and provide in detail for all the implications of the change. the council's function in relation to the staff is to settle or approve fundamental conditions of service and basic rights, duties and obligations..."
Keywords
decision; competence; staff regulations and rules; amendment to the rules; terms of appointment; salary; scale; executive body
Consideration 1
Extract:
"[A]n officer whose increment was withheld otherwise than on the grounds of unsatisfactory service would be recognised as having cause for complaint. [...] In fact, the increment is simply a way of rewarding seniority and the accumulated experience that goes with it, and the number of an officer's step is simply a convenient way of describing the salary level to which he has attained.
Keywords
grounds; step; increment withheld; salary; purpose
Consideration 1
Extract:
"While grades are distinguishable from one another by a difference in the nature of the duties performed and in the degree of responsibility undertaken, steps within grades are not similarly distinguishable. In fact, the increment is simply a way of rewarding seniority and [...] experience [...]."
Keywords
grade; step; difference; purpose
Consideration 1
Extract:
According to the definition in the applicable provision, the increase from one step to the next higher step is given "on the basis of satisfactory service during a qualifying period [...]. This definition must be considered in the light of well-established practice [...]. In practice [...] the qualifying period is virtually a fixed period and an officer whose increment was withheld otherwise than on the grounds of unsatisfactory service would be recognised as having cause for complaint."
Keywords
grounds; increment; increment withheld; satisfactory service; condition; definition
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