The government is facing calls to deliver pension justice that a Court of Appeal ruling has mandated, with their lack of action meaning that the Fire Brigades Union is being forced to begin preparing relevant legal claims on behalf of its members.
In a further unusual step, employees’ and employers’ representatives within fire and rescue have sent a joint letter to the government, calling on them to alter steps which mean that fire and rescue services are currently unable to comply with a Court of Appeal ruling and remedy pension injustice.
judicial and firefighter pension schemes
In December 2018 the Court of Appeal ruled in the McCloud/Sargeant case that 2015 reforms to the judicial and firefighter pension schemes were unlawful in that they afforded greater protection to older workers, with an “underpin” ensuring workers did not lose out in the new scheme but only available based on age.
Workers are entitled to be treated as if they had remained in the previous, better pension scheme when the schemes were reformed in April 2015, up until the end of the “remedy period” (31 March 2022).
joint framework
Affected members who have or who are taking pension benefits are at a detriment
Although the government has progressed with this by planning legislation to be brought in in October 2023 this nonetheless means that affected members who have or who are taking pension benefits are at a detriment, in contradiction to the court’s ruling.
The Fire Brigades Union and Local Government Association have worked together to agree on a joint framework to implement the Court of Appeal ruling in this regard when it comes to firefighters and resolve this situation, but the withdrawal of relevant Home Office guidance and Treasury opposition to any solution for scheme aside from the October 2023 legislation means that it has not been possible to deliver this.
legal claims
Mark Rowe, Fire Brigades Union National Officer, said, “The Fire Brigades Union continues to fight for pension justice for all our members. We do not accept Treasury and Home Office delays in abiding by the decision of the court. The FBU never misses a meeting or any opportunity to fight for those suffering immediate detriment to have their pensions paid to them right now."
He adds, "We continue to meet regularly with the LGA and our respective legal teams to resolve this matter as quickly as possible for our members."
remedy legislation
Mark Rowe continues, "There must be no further delays, the FBU legal team is drafting the very significant next round of legal claims which will be registered in the court shortly.”
In the joint letter, which can be viewed in full here, Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, and Jo Donnelly, Senior Pensions Secretary at the LGA, said that “We cannot express strongly enough our continued frustration at the government’s failure, as expressed by HM Treasury and Home Office, to support FRAs (fire and rescue authorities) in ensuring affected FPS (Firefighter Pension Scheme) members are placed in the position required by the Court of Appeal in December 2018 (McCloud/Sargeant), prior to implementation of remedy legislation.”
