Successful appeal in firefighters’ pension case

Andrew Short QC and Lydia Seymour successful in the EAT in firefighters’ pension case appeal, overturning ET decision to dismiss the firefighters’ claims.

Andrew Short QC and Lydia Seymour act for more than 6,000 firefighters in this group claim for age discrimination, equal pay, sex and race discrimination following the introduction of a less generous pension scheme for younger firefighters in 2015.

All claims were originally dismissed by the Employment Tribunal, but the rejection of the age and race discrimination claims has now been overturned. The EAT found that the Employment Tribunal had applied the wrong test on the question of justification and an inadequate level of scrutiny on the issue of proportionality.

All parties were given permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal (the firefighters in relation to the rejection of their claim for equal pay and the respondents in relation to the issues of age and race discrimination).

The full judgment is available to read here.

Andrew’s pensions work encompasses both private and public sector schemes. He is particularly sought after in cases that require a knowledge of both pensions and employment law. His “practical” and “realistic” approach together with his “great understanding of the commercial issues in a case” makes his strategic advice and his advocacy highly sought after by his national and international clients.

Lydia has a specialist pensions and employment law practice covering ‘black letter’ pensions law, pensions-related professional negligence and pensions/employment crossover cases. She has been recognised by the legal directories as a leading junior since 2005, and is listed in both the employment and pensions categories, with clients commenting that she is “razor sharp”, “incredibly thorough” and “a good strategic thinker”.

News 7 Feb, 2018