Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT Held or Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT Pronouncements
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT considered an appeal by the Secretary-General. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that, at the time Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF sought to make the correction from termination to non-renewal, the staff member was already separated from service, and it was, therefore, too late to reverse the decision. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT affirmed Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s finding that the staff member¡¯s separation from service was termination on grounds of alleged unsatisfactory performance and that the Administration¡¯s decision to reverse the decision was untimely and ineffective. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that there was no reason to reverse Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s finding that the staff member had been deprived of a meaningful opportunity to rebut her PER for 2010 and that, therefore, the PER could not be relied on. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT affirmed Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s finding that the termination of staff member¡¯s appointment was unlawful because her unsatisfactory performance had not been established. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT affirmed Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s conclusion that no proper investigation into the complaints of harassment and abuse of authority had taken place. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that there was no error in Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT¡¯s decision that the circumstances of the case merited a compensatory award. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT, however, held that the complaint of harassment should not be treated as a separate circumstance and set aside the compensation granted for emotional distress. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT held that there was no provision for rescission or removal of a PER in the Staff Regulations and Rules and, therefore, set aside the orders of recission and removal of the 2010 PER. Subject to the variations in damages, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵAT dismissed the appeal and affirmed the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT judgment.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT judgment: The Applicant contested the decision to terminate her appointment and challenged Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵICEF¡¯s inaction on her complaints of harassment and abuse of authority. Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵDT ordered that the Applicant¡¯s PER for 2010 be rescinded and removed from her personnel files, that she be paid a total compensation for the unlawful termination of her service and for the emotional distress she suffered and that she be paid any outstanding termination benefits and entitlements with retroactive interest.
Legal Principle(s)
In situations where the Administration finds that it has made an unlawful decision or an illegal commitment, it is entitled to remedy that situation, but it must be timely done. Termination can only be based on unsatisfactory performance if the staff member was granted a meaningful opportunity to rebut the Performance Evaluation Report (PER). There is no provision in the Staff Regulations and Rules that allows removing a PER from a staff member¡¯s personal file.