Part-time firefighters

Case 1: The facts

A number of retained (part-time) firefighters claimed that they did not have the same rights to pensions and other benefits as their full-time colleagues, and that this was contrary to the Part-Time Workers Regulations (PTWR).

The ruling

To make a claim under the PTWR, a worker must be employed under the same type of contract as their comparator and be engaged in the same or broadly similar work. The Court of Appeal held that the retained firefighters were employed under the same type of contract as their full-time colleagues, but were not engaged in the same or broadly similar work because the full-time firefighters had extra job functions requiring different qualifications and skills.

This meant they could not compare themselves with the full-time workers for the purpose of the Regulations, and their claims failed.

Mathews & others v Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority [2004] IRLR 697