Part-timers’ right to pensions

Case 6: The facts

Mrs Campbell and Mrs Winder, who had been denied access to their employer’s pension scheme in the early years of their employment because they worked part-time, brought equal pay claims. Their claims were “standard” rather than relating to employment on a series of fixed-term contracts, so the time limit for bringing a claim was six months from the date when their employment ended. The issue for the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) was whether their claims were in time.

The ruling

Since Campbell had worked under one employment contract which had changed gradually over the years as she took on extra duties or the work changed, the EAT held that her claim was in time. She could therefore claim for the period from 1976 (when it was found unlawful to exclude part-timers from pension schemes) to 1986, when she became full-time.

However, Winder had changed jobs twice. Each time, she had gone through a competitive interview process, and the location and duties of her worked had changed. The EAT said she had not been in the same employment six months prior to bringing her claim, so it was out of time.

Aston University v Winder & Campbell UKEAT/0025&0026/07