On the go: The Fire Brigades Union is looking at potential compensation claims for its members in public sector pension schemes who were victims of age discrimination.
In an update on its website, the union stated that these claims would aim to “compensate members for the financial hardship and also distress, upset and anger – described by lawyers as ‘injury to feelings’ – that may have been caused” during this process.
The potential claims relate to a dispute first brought by firefighters and judges in March 2015 – known as the McCloud and Sargeant cases, where judges found that by protecting older members from a downgrade to their defined benefit pension accrual, the government was discriminating based on age.
Similar claims have since been brought by teachers, police officers and doctors – all members of the new public sector career average revalued earnings schemes, in which similar age protections were implemented.
Transitional provisions took different forms, allowing older members to remain members of the old schemes, either until retirement or until the end of a period of tapered protection, depending on their age.
The difference in treatment will, in due course, be removed for all members with relevant service across all the main public service pension schemes, not just those who have lodged legal claims, the government noted.
FBU members who registered a claim in 2015 do not have to do anything unless they wish to raise any particular circumstances they want to be considered. These may include examples of financial hardship or distress caused by unlawful discrimination, the union stated.
Those who have not already filed a claim and wish to do so need to fill out two questionnaires available on the FBU website, the union added.
