PFEW Pension Compensation Claim
The Police Federation of England & Wales launched a compensation claim against the Government on behalf of members who were victims of discrimination and suffered any ‘injury to feeling’ as a result of the changes to members’ pensions by the introduction of the 2015 scheme. FAQs on eligibility can be found here. However, please note that it is no longer possible to join the PFEW claim if you have not already done so.
The Government has stated it will put right the pension losses suffered. The purpose of this claim is to ensure those who have not already submitted a claim in respect of the pension discrimination are also considered for any compensation the court considers appropriate for the distress caused by the discriminatory changes.
The claim is being handled on our behalf by the leading UK and international law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper.
Penningtons Manches Cooper, submitted our pension compensation claim on behalf of members in December 2020, with a second claim being submitted in April 2021 for discrimination arising from the transitional provisions of the Police Pension Regulations 2015. The claims were subsequently processed by the Employment Tribunal and the respondents to the claims (the Chief Officers and the Secretary of State for the Home Department) were given two months to file responses. Subsequently, the claims were stayed (put on hold) pending the conclusion of other similar claims, which include not only the claims brought by other police officers who are represented by Leigh Day solicitors, but also claims brought by the Judges (McCloud) and Firefighters (Sargeant) and other associated litigation.
February 2023 Update
The PFEW claim has been “stayed” (put on hold) pending the conclusion of other similar claims. This includes the claims brought by other police officers who are represented by Leigh Day solicitors (known as ‘Aarons & others’), as well as claims brought by Judges (‘McCloud’ cases) and Firefighters (‘Sargeant’ cases) and other associated litigation which addresses the issue of Remedy.
When a claim is “stayed” it means that the claim does not progress in the Employment Tribunal and legal issues are not being determined; it is on hold. This means that the award for injury to feelings, or any other remedy, will not be determined by the Employment Tribunal whilst the “stay” is in place. This therefore means that there are unlikely to be any developments over the next 12 months.
We understand that a settlement has been agreed in Aarons in relation to the award for injury to feelings. However, there are still other aspects to Remedy which are yet to be determined by the Tribunal in Aarons. The Aarons claims are more advanced, and that is why they are now at the stage where remedy/damages/settlement has been considered.
The Employment Tribunal have advised that the Aarons claims are now “stayed” pending the introduction of pension Remedy legislation in October 2023. We therefore would like to reiterate that the claim PFEW are bringing is a separate claim from the Aarons claims, and this claim is only at the beginning of the litigation process.
Please direct any queries relating to this claim to pensionclaim@polfed.org.
