Current position
1. Outstanding test issues
1.1 TUPE
The final appeal on the question of when time runs for the purposes of bringing part-time worker pension cases when a claimant's employment has been transferred under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (TUPE) has now been heard by the House of Lords which ruled that time runs from the date of the transfer. Therefore if the whole of a claimant's claim relates to a period of exclusion from the pension scheme before the date of the transfer, her claim is out of time unless it was presented to the tribunal within 6 months of the transfer. This ruling affects over 500 cases in the electricity supply sector and a small number against other private sector employers and is likely to mean that at least the great majority of them will fail. Letters will now be sent to claimant's representatives and to unrepresented claimants requiring them to give reasons why their claims should not be dismissed on the basis that they are out of time. The full transcript of the House of Lords judgment is available here.
1.2 Beswick cases
These cases involve claimants seeking access to the Local Government Pension scheme who, the respondents say, had the opportunity to buy back the years which are now the subject of their tribunal claims when they first joined the pension scheme or would have had that right if they had joined the scheme when they became eligible to do so. The respondents claim that these cases should fail because the terms on which the claimants could have bought back the lost years were more favourable than the agreed terms of settlement in the public sector cases and they have therefore not suffered a detriment.
The trade unions UNISON and T&GWU, which represent many claimants in these cases, announced in 2005 that after taking actuarial advice and Counsel's opinion, they accepted the respondents' arguments and would no longer be pursuing these cases. There then appeared to be some confusion about the extent of this concession, which the unions claimed only applied to claimants who actually joined the pension scheme in time to receive the invitation to buy back the lost years but who did not do so. The concession was not intended to apply to those who did not join in time and, in consequence, did not receive the invitation to buy back. These cases were designated Beswick category 2. Cases where the respondents say that the claimant did receive an offer to buy back which she did not take up (Beswick category 1) are being dealt with by way of "show cause" letters to claimants asking them to explain why their claims should not be struck out. The Beswick category 2 test case has now been heard and it was held that claimants who failed to opt into the Local Government Pension Scheme in time to benefit from the 1987/91 "buy back" offer cannot succeed in their claims. Show cause letters will now be sent to the affected claimants. The tribunal's reasons are available here.
1.3 Post retirement claims
These are a small group of about 60 teacher claimants who, having retired early on pension, returned to teaching but were not permitted to rejoin the pension scheme. The test case was heard in Nottingham on 4 July 2007 and the Claimant’s claims were dismissed. The tribunal’s Reasons are available here
2. Private sector cases
The great majority of private sector claims have now either settled or been dismissed and it is hoped that the remainder will be completed by the end of this year. However, in the case of a few large employers involving many claimants where a full hearing before a tribunal will be required, this may not be possible.
3. Public sector cases
Settlement and disposal of public sector cases continues although there are still problems in the health sector. The schedules of cases which are said to fail in whole or in part, took longer to prepare than expected and one had to be returned to the NHS Pensions Agency to be rewritten. This has now been done, but it was then discovered that several hundred claims did not appear on any of the NHS schedules. This has now been addressed and additional schedules are being sent to tribunal offices. Education and Local Government cases are progressing well.
4. Armed Forces Pension Scheme cases
An employment tribunal has concluded that the exclusion of reserve forces from the Armed Forces Pension Scheme is objectively justified. In consequence, all claims by reserve forces fail. The tribunal’s Reasons are available here
