Lawyers take action on behalf of a large number of police officers following pension changes
Lawyers take action on behalf of thousands of police officers over new pension schemes which they claim discriminate on the grounds of age, race and sex
Posted on 15 September 2016
Lawyers from law firm Leigh Day are pursuing claims for a large number of police officers over the new pensions scheme which was introduced last year by the Home Office.
Employment lawyers from Leigh Day claim that the new police pension scheme, the Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) Police Pension Scheme, which came into force on 1 April 2015, will mean many officers will receive lower pensions when they retire.
The new CARE scheme requires officers born after 1 April 1967 to leave the two existing schemes which for many officers provides greater benefits such as a lower contribution rates, lower retirement age and a higher final pension value, than the existing schemes.
Those Police Officers born before 1 April 1967 and appointed before 1 April 2012 will stay in the two existing schemes, known as the 1987 and 2006 police pension schemes.
Leigh Day has lodged approximately 8,000 claims in the employment tribunal on behalf of officers for discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, race and equal pay, as younger officers will generally be more affected by the changes and this group contains many more female officers as well as officers from an ethnic minority background. A final batch of claims will be submitted in Spring 2017.
Responses to the claims are currently being received from the Secretary of State for the Home Office and the Chief Constables and Commissioners of the Police Forces and NCA directly. The London Central Employment Tribunal is yet to issue any dates for case management matters. The Scottish Tribunal in Glasgow has stayed (“sisted”) the claims until May 2017 as it awaits for progress in the London Central Tribunal. Leigh Day will be providing a further update to clients in due course.
Please note, registrations for new officers have now closed.
Employment lawyers from Leigh Day claim that the new police pension scheme, the Career Average Revalued Earnings (CARE) Police Pension Scheme, which came into force on 1 April 2015, will mean many officers will receive lower pensions when they retire.
The new CARE scheme requires officers born after 1 April 1967 to leave the two existing schemes which for many officers provides greater benefits such as a lower contribution rates, lower retirement age and a higher final pension value, than the existing schemes.
Those Police Officers born before 1 April 1967 and appointed before 1 April 2012 will stay in the two existing schemes, known as the 1987 and 2006 police pension schemes.
Leigh Day has lodged approximately 8,000 claims in the employment tribunal on behalf of officers for discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, race and equal pay, as younger officers will generally be more affected by the changes and this group contains many more female officers as well as officers from an ethnic minority background. A final batch of claims will be submitted in Spring 2017.
Responses to the claims are currently being received from the Secretary of State for the Home Office and the Chief Constables and Commissioners of the Police Forces and NCA directly. The London Central Employment Tribunal is yet to issue any dates for case management matters. The Scottish Tribunal in Glasgow has stayed (“sisted”) the claims until May 2017 as it awaits for progress in the London Central Tribunal. Leigh Day will be providing a further update to clients in due course.
Please note, registrations for new officers have now closed.