Dear Brother/Sister
Pensions ' Next steps for age discrimination claims for all fire service pension schemes
On 30 June you were informed via circular 2015HOC0417MW that the FBU had started the process of mounting a legal challenge in relation to 'protection' arrangements for firefighters who have been moved or will be moved into the new 2015 pension schemes i.e those who have not been fully covered by the 'protection' arrangements. (N.B. This includes considering a challenge for FBU members who are members of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)). The first steps of this challenge, which required a test case being lodged in each individual service, was completed on 30 June.
The process also involves an early conciliation process with ACAS to see if there is any room for movement on this issue before the legal process moves to the next stage. We have spoken to ACAS and informed them of the details and will update members of any developments, if any, that emerge as a result of this early conciliation.
The next step of the process involves you directly as a claimant.
We will need to register a claim on behalf of everyone who is adversely affected by these protection proposals. This will mean that we will need all your details as soon as possible.
To enable this to be achieved as swiftly and as easy as possible we are posting an online questionnaire on the FBU website www.fbu.org.uk this will be active from Monday 13 July.
It is important that you complete the form and submit it as soon as possible.
In addition to this we are also posting an explanation of the challenge and how it could affect you on our website. It is extremely important that you read this before you complete the questionnaire. There is an explanation for members of the firefighter pension schemes and members of the local government pension schemes.
Filling in the on-line form
The form requires you to enter your FBU membership number, as we are only making this challenge on behalf of our members. Your membership number can be found on your hard copy home address version of this circular. We will only process claims for FBU members so it is important that you insert your membership number.
- FPS and NFPS members - It is very important that you complete the on-line form unless you are a protected member of the 1992 firefighters' pension scheme.
- If you have joined or are in the process of joining the RDS modified scheme it is also important that you complete the form.
- If you are a member of the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) it is also important that you complete the form.
The reason for this is that we are still trying to develop a challenge in relation to all the protection in all fire service schemes and we will need your details should this develop.
Please note that because of the large number of claims we request that you use the on-line form on all occasions.
Next steps
The Executive Council has agreed to proceed on the basis of legal advice received, but it is very important to note that we cannot predict how this case will proceed. In any such legal challenge there are no guarantees of success.
It is also worth reiterating that you should be aware that the Executive Council continues to consider every possible avenue for challenging the arrangements which were imposed in April, as well as seeking improvements to the new scheme.
You will be kept updated on this issue as it develops.
Best wishes.
Yours fraternally,
Matt Wrack
General Secretary
MW/sll
