News & Events
News & Events
Join Outer Temple Chambers at the Edwardian Radisson Hotel, Manchester for an afternoon of pensions law talks at the next stop of this conference series around the country. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers in Manchester for the next stop of our Pensions Law Conference 2023 series. Topics will include: an actuary’s role in Section 67 certification, age discrimination and the EU Withdrawal Act 2018, the presumption of regularity, and notable non-pensions cases for pensions lawyers. The event will be rounded off with a panel discussion comprised of Outer Temple’s silks. Agenda 1.30pm – Registration (tea and coffee on arrival)2pm – Consultation with the scheme actuary and Section 67 Certification. Where has Mitchells & Butler left Us?2.30pm –…
Join Outer Temple Chambers at the Marriott Delta Hotel, Bristol for an afternoon of pensions law talks at the first stop of this conference series around the country. You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers in Bristol for the first stop of our Pensions Law Conference 2023 series. Topics will include: an actuary’s role in Section 67 certification, age discrimination and the EU Withdrawal Act 2018, the presumption of regularity, and notable non-pensions cases for pensions lawyers. The event will be rounded off with a panel discussion comprised of Outer Temple’s silks. Agenda 1.30pm – Registration (tea and coffee on arrival)2pm – Consultation with the scheme actuary and Section 67 Certification. Wherehas Mitchells & Butler left Us?Lydia Seymour &…
Andrew Short KC and Bianca Venkata, acting for the claimants, and Naomi Ling, acting for the Trustee, have appeared in an important case relating to age discrimination in pension schemes. Mrs Justice Eady, President, sitting in the EAT, found that claimants bringing claims of age discrimination against a private sector body after IP Completion date (31 December 2020) could not rely on general principles of EU law to disapply a provision [in the Equality Act (Age Exemptions for Pension Schemes) Regulations 2010] excluding all claims for age discrimination relating to pensionable service before 1 December 2006. The Employment Tribunal had disapplied this provision relying on the case of Innospec v Walker [2017] UKSC 47. The decision of the Employment Tribunal…
Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted as an ‘Outstanding Set’ in Diversity & Inclusion, by the Chambers UK Bar Awards 2022. Congratulations also to James Leonard, Naomi Ling, Matthew McDonagh, and Justina Stewart, who have been shortlisted for individual awards. Chambers & Partners announced the shortlist ahead of the Awards Ceremony on 17th November in London. Naomi Ling, Employment Naomi Ling has been shortlisted as ‘Employment Junior of the Year’ in recognition of her outstanding Employment practice last year. She is a highly sought-after employment barrister with over 20 years of experience in this area. Recent instructions of note include; Abdar v Morrisons, McCloud v Lord Chancellor, Turley v Port of Felixstowe James Leonard, Health…
News, Disciplinary & Regulatory, Employment 1 Sep, 2022
Daniel Barnett will be holding 30 employment law webinars over 3 weeks from 1st – 19th March 2021 to raise £30,000 for the Free Representation Unit. Daniel Barnett’s webinars will raise funds for the FRU, which has been providing representation in social security and employment tribunals for those who are not eligible for legal aid and cannot afford legal fees since 1972. Our members will be joining Daniel’s webinars to discuss the following topics: Health and Safety with Gus Baker Monday 1 March 2021 at 3:30pm ACAS Early Conciliation with Andrew Short QC Thursday 4 March 2021 at 3:30pm Employee Data, Monitoring and Privacy with Jeremy Scott-Joynt Friday 5 March 2021 at 9:30am Changing Terms…
News 2 Mar, 2021
We are delighted to announce new appointments to the Attorney General’s A and C panels. Naomi Ling joins the A Panel, Rob Dickason joins the B Panel and four members of Chambers have been added to the C Panel. Naomi Ling joins the Attorney General’s A Panel, recognising her considerable expertise in employment and pension law. The A Panel deals with the most complex government cases in all kinds of courts and tribunals. Members will often appear against QCs. In general, those appointed to the A Panel will have over 10 years’ advocacy experience. Rob Dickason joins the Attorney General’s B Panel and continues to represent a range of Government departments in a variety of healthcare-related public and private law…
News 3 Sep, 2020
As part of a team of counsel, Naomi Ling has successful defended Department for Transport against a challenge to their process of awarding rail franchises. Naomi Ling acted as specialist pensions counsel as part of an 11 strong counsel team defending the Department for Transport against a challenge to the 2019 rail franchising process. Arriva, Stagecoach and Virgin Trains (the latter acting as part of a consortium) were disqualified from the competitions from the East Midlands and South Eastern and West Coast Partnership rail franchises because they had failed to submit bids that were compliant with the pensions requirements. They challenged this decision, claiming that the Secretary of State had acted unlawfully in requiring them to assume uncertain future pensions…
The High Court has today allowed an appeal from the Pensions Ombudsman in the case of five police officers who were hit with a massive pensions tax when they accepted offers of civilian employment within a month of retirement before the age of 55. The officers lost their protected pension age and their lump sums and pensions were deemed unauthorised payments. The High Court found that the pensions administrators should have known that this would be the case but had nevertheless sent the officers misleading information suggesting that their lump sums would be tax free. The pensions authorities are now liable to compensate the police officers for their losses. This is an important case relating to the duty of pensions…
News 11 Jul, 2019
The Supreme Court today refused permission to the government to appeal in the cases of McCloud and Sergeant relating to age discrimination in the judges and firefighters’ sector pension schemes. The Court of Appeal held in December 2018 that the age protection given to those within 10 years of retirement when public sector pensions were changed from a final salary to a career average basis, was discriminatory on the grounds of age and that the government had acted irrationally in offering it. This decision will have a major impact on the provision of pensions in the public sector. Andrew Short QC’s specialist practice centres on pensions, employment, and general commercial work. He has acted in many of the leading cases…
News 27 Jun, 2019
Naomi Ling has successfully defended an appeal in the EAT from a magistrate, who was removed from judicial office having made comments on BBC television that he believed that it was best for a baby to be adopted by a man and a woman. The magistrate, Richard Page, appealed on the basis that he had been victimised for making a complaint of discrimination on the ground of religion and belief, and that his removal was a breach of his A10 right to freedom of expression. Naomi acted for the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice, who removed him from office on the basis that as a judge who heard adoption approval applications, he had compromised his judicial impartiality. A link…
News 20 Jun, 2019
Andrew Short QC, Lydia Seymour and Naomi Ling have been successful in the Court of Appeal in the claims of more than 200 judges and 6000 firefighters for age discrimination, equal pay and race discrimination. The Court of Appeal held that transitional protections that sheltered older judges and firefighters from the significant reductions in pensions entitlements which the claimants suffered as a result of the public sector pensions changes in 2015, were unlawfully discriminatory. It made findings on the correct approach to take to the exercise of objective justification where the state has a legitimate interest in the issue. It also held that the desire to protect older judges/firefighters when they would have been least affected by the 2015 changes…
News 20 Dec, 2018
Andrew Short QC and Naomi Ling successful in judges’ pensions case appeal, resisting appeal against ET decision that they were discriminated against on grounds of age. Andrew Short QC and Naomi Ling successfully resisted an appeal by the Ministry of Justice to the EAT from a finding that judges had been discriminated against on grounds of age. The claimants are more than 200 judges who were moved to a less generous pension scheme in 2015. The Employment Tribunal found that the aim of protecting those closest to retirement was not legitimate and, in any event, the judges were so badly affected by the change that it was not proportionate. The EAT found that the judge had made some errors in…
News 7 Feb, 2018
