UNDT/2023/058, Hoxha
The right of the Applicant to a correct level of classification of the post and a fair level of pay derives from the effective functions performed in the years, always the same at least from 2018, functions which - according to the acknowledgement of the Administration itself - correspond to the FS-5 level.
The Applicant is entitled to a compensation calculated as the difference in salary, allowances, and other entitlements between the FS-5 level and the FS-4 level, for the period November 2018 to September 2022, plus interest at the rate correspondent to the rate of inflation, including the equivalent of the loss in contributions to pension.
The Administration violated the Applicant’s right to equal pay for equal work.
The Respondent was ordered to pay to the Applicant a compensation calculated as the difference in salary, allowances, and other entitlements between the FS-5 level and the FS-4 level, for the period November 2018 to September 2022, plus interest at the rate correspondent to the rate of inflation, including the equivalent of the loss in contributions to pension.
The Applicant contested the Administration’s failure to re-classify the Budget Assistant post which she encumbered, from FS-4 level to FS-5level, per facsimile from the Field Budget and Finance Division dated 14 November 2018.
The absence of a response on the part of the Administration to a staff member’s request may, in certain circumstances, constitute a denial of that request. This would constitute an appealable
administrative decision since it may amount to an implied unilateral decision with direct legal consequences.
Classification of posts is subject to management’s discretion, but like any discretion, it may not be exercised in an arbitrary, capricious, or illegal manner. There
is no discretion to violate the principle of equal pay for equal work.
The application is granted.