Judgment No. 4559
Decision
1. The decision of the President of the Office of 3 June 2020 is set aside.
2. The EPO shall pay the complainant moral damages in the amount of 1,000 euros.
3. It shall also pay him costs in the amount of 500 euros.
4. All other claims are dismissed.
Summary
The complainant impugns the refusal to grant him retroactively two days of annual leave as compensation for two days worked during that leave.
Judgment keywords
Keywords
complaint allowed; annual leave
Consideration 2
Extract:
The complainant requests that oral proceedings be held. However, the Tribunal considers that the parties have presented sufficiently extensive and detailed submissions and documents to allow the Tribunal to be properly informed of all the relevant arguments and evidence. The request for oral proceedings is therefore rejected.
Keywords
oral proceedings
Consideration 3
Extract:
[I]t [is not] appropriate [...] to grant [the complainant's] request for the IAC’s opinion to be set aside as, in itself, that opinion was merely a preparatory step in the process of reaching a final decision, which did not itself cause injury. As the Tribunal noted in Judgment 4392, consideration 5, “[a] request to declare the opinion of the [IAC] null and void is irreceivable as the [IAC] has authority to make only recommendations, not decisions”. Established precedent has it that such an opinion does not in itself constitute a decision causing injury which may be impugned before the Tribunal (see, for example, Judgments 3171, consideration 13, 4118, consideration 2, and 4464, consideration 10). This request is therefore irreceivable.
Reference(s)
Jugement(s) TAOIT: 3171, 4118, 4392, 4464
Keywords
receivability of the complaint; step in the procedure; report of the internal appeals body
Consideration 10
Extract:
[I]t is well established in the Tribunal’s case law that international organisations are bound to refrain from any type of conduct that may harm the dignity or reputation of their staff members (see, for example, Judgment 3613, consideration 46) and that the general principle of good faith and the concomitant duty of care require them to treat their staff with due consideration in order to avoid causing them undue injury (see, for example, Judgment 3861, consideration 9).
Reference(s)
Jugement(s) TAOIT: 3613, 3861
Keywords
good faith; organisation's duties; respect for dignity; duty of care; professional reputation
Consideration 13
Extract:
[A]s regards moral damages for the undue length of the internal appeal procedure, the Tribunal notes that the complainant has already received an award of 200 euros under this head, pursuant to the impugned decision. The complainant does not establish convincingly in his submissions that he suffered injury warranting a greater amount in redress. This claim will therefore be dismissed.
Keywords
moral injury; delay in internal procedure
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