Pensions victory

The FBU firefighters’ union has scored a significant Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) victory against the government in relation to their members’ pension entitlement.


The union has been trying to establish that transitional pension arrangements, made when a new and less beneficial firefighters’ pension scheme was introduced by the government, discriminated against younger firefighters.


Protective transitional arrangements were made available which, the FBU argued, benefitted older members more than younger ones. These measures gave tapered protection for existing pension scheme members based on their date of birth, meaning older members could effectively remain in the more generous scheme with younger members having less or no protection.


The employment tribunal initially ruled that the transitional arrangements were not age discriminatory. By contrast, in a parallel case involving transitional arrangements for judges’ pension schemes, the tribunal found that their transitional arrangements were age discriminatory. 


On appeal by the FBU, the EAT has now reversed the tribunal’s decision and the case has been sent back to the tribunal to look at whether there is any justification for the discriminatory provisions. 


This will involve the tribunal considering afresh whether the transitional provisions amount to a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. 


An appeal relating to the judges’ pension scheme was heard at the same time, but the EAT upheld the tribunal’s original finding of age discrimination.

https://www.fbu.org.uk/circular/2018hoc0073mw/pensions-age-discrimination-appeal