News & Events
News & Events
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…
News 1 Nov, 2022
Outer Temple’s Nicolas Stallworthy KC and Richard Hitchcock KC will be speaking at White Paper’s upcoming Pensions Law Conference named ‘Pensions Law: Shaping New Developments into Solution-Focused Answers for your Clients’. This is being held on Tuesday 4th October 2022. White Paper are an organisation who provide advanced-level legal and business conferences. They are soon holding a conference entitled ‘Pensions Law: Shaping New Developments into Solution-Focused Answers for your Clients’ that aims to provide answers to the biggest legal matters facing the pensions industry. Nicolas Stallworthy KC is due to be answering the question ‘What are the practical and legal implications of the new notifiable events triggers and “declarations of intent”, and which corporate activities will likely be caught?’ Richard…
News 30 Sep, 2022
Bianca Venkata has recently been published in Lexis Nexis® PSL. Her article looks at The Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 and is available now online. Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022 (PSPJOA 2022) was given Royal Assent on 10 March 2022. Following a detailed report on the need to reform public sector pensions, the ruling in the McCloud and Sargeant case, a cost control valuation, and a review conducted by the Senior Salaries Review Body, the government introduced the PSPJOA 2022. The key measures, including the removal of discriminatory transitional provisions and of the final salary link, alongside the introduction of the cost control mechanism have meant public sector pension schemes are arguably fairer. In…
External Publications 13 Jun, 2022
Andrew Short QC, David E. Grant QC, Helen Pugh and Gus Baker, of Outer Temple’s Pensions and Commercial team, have been instructed in a landmark multiple derivative and ESG case. In this case two members of one of the largest pension schemes in the UK made a novel attempt to obtain the court’s permission to bring a derivative claim against the directors of the corporate trustee of the pension scheme. In a detailed judgment dismissing the application, Mr Justice Leech provides welcome clarification on the test to be applied to multiple derivative actions. Such actions continue to be governed by the Foss v Harbottle common law test in contrast to single derivative actions which are now governed by the Companies Act 2006. Further, in one…
News 25 May, 2022
Lydia Seymour has been asked to write an Opinion for the LGPS Scheme Advisory Board on the issue of whether local authorities need to offer a sharia-compliant alternative to the Local Government Pension Scheme. A number of LGPS member authorities had observed that some employees were opting out of the LGPS on the basis of their religious belief, particularly people of the Muslim faith who were concerned that LGPS funds/investments were not Sharia-compliant. At present there is no alternative pension provision from these employers other than the LGPS. The board therefore commissioned a report and asked Lydia to advise on the risk of a successful claim for discrimination or human rights challenge from an employee complaining of a failure by…
Legal Blogs 3 May, 2022
Lydia Seymour recently acted for the successful Respondent in CRAFT v Pope & Others [2022] EWCA Civ 22, which considered the extent to which a company could subsequently challenge the decisions of sole Directors and Members to award themselves company property. CRAFT brought claims for breach of directors’ duties and breach of fiduciary duty against its former directors/members who had awarded themselves company property in circumstances in which the company’s constitution prevented distribution of its assets. The Defendants had asserted that they could not be in breach of any duty to the company because the interests of the company should be equated to the interests of the sole members/directors, and further that the company could not bring any claim in…
News 9 Feb, 2022
We are delighted to announce that Jennifer Seaman (TEP) has been appointed as a Full Member of STEP, the global professional association for trust and estate practitioners. Jennifer has been appointed to the top level of STEP membership. Full Members are qualified practitioners with proven qualifications and experience who adhere to STEP’s Code of Professional Conduct, undertake continuing professional development, and hold Professional Indemnity Insurance. TEPs are internationally recognised as experts in their field. STEP is the global professional association for those advising families on planning their assets across generations by setting and upholding high professional standards, informing public policy, promoting education, and connecting practitioners globally to share knowledge and best practice. Find out more Jennifer’s practice covers Traditional Chancery,…
News 13 May, 2021
Saul Margo of Outer Temple Chambers was delighted to host a talk on the Pension Schemes Act 2021 with David Fairs, Executive Director of Policy, Analysis and Advice at The Pensions Regulator. This live virtual talk, hosted by Saul Margo, saw David Fairs cover topics such as the new criminal offences contained in section 107 of the Act, including the concept of “reasonable excuse”, as well as the impact that the pandemic has had and will continue to have on the exercise of TPR’s enforcement powers. After a brief introduction to the Act from David, Saul posed a number of questions by guests in attendance. This Q&A session proved very popular and many questions were answered during the event, providing…
Webinars & Recordings 14 Apr, 2021
Jennifer Seaman and Nicholas Hill recently provided a talk on the new Practice Direction 57AC and its Appendix, highlighting key features and discussing practical ways to ensure compliance with the Practice Direction and avoiding sanctions. The new Practice Direction 57AC comes into force on 6 April 2021. It concerns witness statements for use at trials in the Business and Property Courts signed on or after 6 April 2021. It will involve a fundamental re-think to how such witness statements are produced. Jennifer and Nick presented a virtual talk recently, aimed at helping commercial and private client practitioners get to grips with the new rules. Watch the webinar; Practice Direction 57AC; Witness Statements About the speakers Jennifer Seaman is a leading…
Webinars & Recordings 25 Mar, 2021
You are invited to join Outer Temple Chambers and the Pensions Regulator for a talk on Tuesday March 30 2021 at 10:00 AM on the Pension Schemes Act 2021. Outer Temple Chambers is delighted to host a talk on the Pension Schemes Act 2021 with David Fairs, Executive Director of Policy, Analysis and Advice at The Pensions Regulator. The talk will be hosted by Saul Margo of Outer Temple Chambers and David will cover topics such as the new criminal offences contained in section 107 of the Act, including the concept of “reasonable excuse”, as well as the impact that the pandemic has had and will continue to have on the exercise of TPR’s enforcement powers. You are invited to submit…
Events 12 Mar, 2021
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 came into force on 11 February 2021 and is set to make fundamental changes to the UK pensions landscape. Andrew Spink QC and Oliver Powell signpost the key changes that have been introduced by the Act, focusing on the new powers that will be available to The Pensions Regulator and the three new criminal offences created by the Act. The Pension Schemes Act 2021 addresses a number of critical areas concerning pensions, and importantly brings about a number of significant changes. Broadly distilled, the Act: establishes a new framework for the formation and administration of collective money purchase pension schemes; creates three new criminal offences; introduces a new power to impose civil penalties of up to £1m; expands…
Legal Blogs 3 Mar, 2021
Jennifer Seaman and Victoria Brown have updated and published the Tolley’s Pension Law Chapter on Dispute Resolution and Pension Scheme Litigation. Tolley’s Pension Law is a leading ‘loose-leaf’ pensions text book – published by Lexis Nexis. The chapter on dispute resolution and pension scheme litigation focuses on occupational pension schemes and gives the latest updates on procedures available to resolve disputes in such schemes, including: litigation before the courts (covering the latest case law in this area, e.g. the British Airways Pension Scheme litigation and FSHC Group Holdings Ltd and subsequent cases); actions before The Pension Regulator; cases before The Pensions Ombudsman. Tolley’s Pensions Law is one of the authoritative texts on pensions law in the UK. LexisNexis describes it…
External Publications 3 Feb, 2021
