UNAT Held or UNDT Pronouncements
The UNAT held that the staff member’s claims of fraudulent manipulation of his electronic leave records failed for want of proof.
The UNAT further held that the UNDT erred by leaving crucial factual issues unresolved, which made it impossible to determine the appeal fully. The UNAT found that the tables summarizing the staff member’s sick leave records were not hearsay but qualified as business records entitled to a presumption of accuracy unless rebutted. However, the UNAT was not satisfied that these records were accurate and noted unresolved inconsistencies. Accordingly, the UNAT further emphasized that the staff member must be given access to all records relied upon by the Administration before the UNDT considers them, to allow a reasonable opportunity to review and challenge those records.
Therefore, the UNAT granted the appeal, reversed Judgment No. UNDT/2024/111, and remanded the case to the UNDT for further fact-finding on sick leave calculations and record corrections.
Decision Contested or Judgment/Order Appealed
A staff member of the 麻豆APP Department of Safety and Security contested the Administration’s decision to place him on sick leave at half pay combined with annual leave, after determining that he had reached the maximum entitlement of 195 working days of sick leave on full salary within a four-year period. The staff member argued that the calculation of his sick leave balance was inaccurate and that his records in Umoja had been improperly altered.
In its Judgment No. UNDT/2024/111, the UNDT dismissed the staff member’s application on the merits, finding that the Administration had correctly calculated his sick leave entitlement and that he had exhausted his full-pay sick leave days.
Staff member appealed.
Legal Principle(s)
Hearsay is a statement or other oral utterance not made by a witness in evidence before a tribunal or court, sought to be introduced to prove the truth of its content.