Judgment No. 3481

• Organization: Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)
• Date: 30.06.2015
• Original: French
• Judges: Rouiller, Ba, Frydman
• Full judgment text - Full judgment text (french)

Decision

1. The impugned decision is set aside.
2. The CTA shall pay the complainant material damages calculated as indicated under 8.
3. It shall pay him 5,000 euros in compensation for moral injury.
4. It shall also pay him costs in the amount of 1,000 euros.
5. All other claims are dismissed, as is the CTA’s counterclaim.

Summary

The complainant challenges the decision to terminate his contract with immediate effect during his trial period.

Judgment keywords

Keywords

complaint allowed; decision quashed; due process; probationary period; termination of employment

Considerations 5-6

Extract:

"[I]t is appropriate to recall that, according to the case law, there is no general principle of law that requires an international organisation to retain a staff member in its service throughout that person’s trial period if, before that period expires, the competent authority has come to the final conclusion that the staff member concerned is unsuitable for the post to which he or she was assigned (see, in particular, Judgment 197, first paragraph). [...]
[I]t is trite law that an organisation must give its staff members, especially those undergoing a trial period, guidance, instructions and advice as to the performance of their duties and that it must warn them in specific terms if they are not giving satisfaction and are at risk of dismissal; a staff member whose service is not considered satisfactory is entitled to be informed in a timely manner as to the unsatisfactory aspects of his or her service so that steps can be taken to remedy the situation. Moreover, he or she is entitled to have objectives set in advance so that he or she will know the yardstick by which future performance will be assessed (see Judgment 3128, under 5, and the case law cited therein). These are fundamental aspects of the duty of an international organisation to act in good faith towards its staff members and to respect their dignity (see Judgment 2529, under 15)."

Reference(s)

ILOAT Judgment(s): 197, 2529, 3128

Keywords

probationary period