The union representing UK firefighters is preparing further legal action after the government has failed to act on a previous Court of Appeal ruling.
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.
As a result of this judgement all workers were be 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” which was due to last until 31 March 2022.
Although the government has progressed with this by planning legislation to be brought in in October 2023 the firefighters union says this still means affected members who have or who are taking pension benefits are at a detriment now, in contradiction to the courts’ ruling.
The Fire Brigades Union and Local Government Association say they have worked together to agree a joint framework to implement the Court of Appeal ruling in this regard when it comes to firefighters and resolve this situation. But it says the withdrawal of relevant Home Office guidance and Treasury opposition to any solution aside from the October 2023 legislation means it has not been possible to deliver this.
Employees’ and employers’ representatives within the fire and rescue service now taking the unusual step of sending a joint letter to the government, calling on them to alter the steps it has taken, which mean that fire and rescue services are currently unable to comply with a Court of Appeal ruling and remedy pension injustice.
Mark Rowe, Fire Brigades Union national officer, says: “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.
“We continue to meet regularly with the LGA and our respective legal teams to resolve this matter as quickly as possible for our members. There must be no further delays, the FBU legal team are drafting the very significant next round of legal claims which will be registered in the court shortly.”
Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, and Jo Donnelly, senior pensions secretary at the LGA, said in the letter that has been sent to government: “We cannot express strongly enough our continued frustration at the government’s failure, as expressed by HM Treasury and Home Office, to support 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”.
