UNITED KINGDOM
The UK Supreme Court has refused the Government leave to appeal against a landmark ruling that Public Service pension reforms discriminated against younger workers.
The Court said the Government had failed to “raise an arguable point of law” in two cases involving judges’ and firefighters’ pension claims.
In December, the Court of Appeal ruled that changes to the pension schemes introduced in 2015 were unlawful on age, sex and race discrimination grounds.
The changes meant that older members could stay in the existing, favourable pension scheme, while younger members had to transfer to a new, financially inferior scheme.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) initiated more than 6,000 Employment Tribunal claims alleging the changes amounted to unlawful discrimination.
The implications for public finances are potentially gargantuan.
It is highly unlikely such a hit to the Budget could simply be absorbed by the Exchequer, so cuts in spending or increases in taxes will almost certainly be needed.
General Secretary of the FBU, Matt Wrack said it was a hard-fought victory for the union and, more importantly, for its members.
“FBU members took action for what they believed to be right, and today we have been vindicated,” Mr Wrack said.
“We never gave up on our fight for justice, and we are delighted that our perseverance has paid off.”
Shubha Banerjee of Leigh Day solicitors, acting on behalf of the judges, said the Government’s decision to force younger judges to leave the Judicial Pensions Scheme had been ruled to be unlawfully discriminatory and the Government had no further avenues for appeal.
“We look forward to these wrongs now being corrected,” Ms Banerjee said.
Senior analyst at investment specialist at AJ Bell, Tom Selby said the Government had shot itself in the foot.
“Members of other public sector schemes could receive a massive boost to their retirement pots,” Mr Selby said.
“This boost will come at a cost to the Treasury — and taxpayers in general — of somewhere in the region of £4 billion [A$7 billion] a year.”
London, 29 June 2019
