Capping officers’ payouts held to be discriminatory
Capping compensation for two police officers who took early severance was disability discrimination, according to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in Chief Constable of Gwent Police v Parsons and Roberts UKEAT/0143/18.
The officers were in their 40s and were disabled under the Equality Act 2010 (EA 10). They had “H1” certification under the 1987 Police Pensions Regulations, allowing them immediate access to a deferred pension on leaving the police force.
They left under a voluntary exit scheme. But the payment they received was capped at six months’ pay instead of the 21 and 18 months’ pay they would have respectively received, because they were in immediate receipt of their pension.
They brought claims against the Chief Constable on the basis that the cap amounted to discrimination arising from disability contrary to section 15 of the EA 10. Their claims succeeded and were upheld on appeal by the EAT.
The EAT said that capping the lump sum was clearly unfavourable treatment and arose in consequence of their disability because the H1 certificates were issued on the basis of the same impairments that define disabilities under the Act.
The Chief Constable had failed to provide evidence that justified this treatment and it was consequently unlawful.