Outcomes - Selected Case Summaries
Categories
Employee grievance procedures delayed
Early Resolution | 26 September 2023
Portfolio of the Civil Service
A government employee who was involved in two separate grievance processes, one of which had been filed against him and another of which he filed, complained that no response had been provided on either matter by the Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS) for a number of months. A complaint was made to the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) alleging non-response maladministration.
According to the Schedule of the Complaints (Maladministration) Act (the Act), the Ombudsman is not able to investigate complaints involving decisions or actions taken with respect to employment discipline or other personnel matters within government entities. However, in this matter, the complaint involved the PoCS not taking any action to respond to the complainant for several months, delaying his ability to appeal the matters to the Civil Service Appeals Commission (CSAC). Our office informed the complainant that we could review the issue of non-response, to ensure they were provided with an update from the government, but that we would not be able to investigate the substance of the grievance issues or any decisions made by the government in respect to those matters.
Based on a limited complaint regarding the allegations of administrative non-response, OMB agreed to seek an informal resolution of this matter.
The informal resolution process ended with the complainant receiving written responses from the government on both grievances, allowing his matters to proceed through the appeals process set out in the Public Service Management Act. OMB reiterated to both the complainant and the government that section 19 of the Cayman Islands Constitution Order requires the government to respond in writing providing reasons to anyone who is adversely affected by a decision taken by the government.
As no formal investigation was undertaken, the OMB did not make any recommendations in relation to this complaint.