Employment Law and Pensions

Part 1: Introduction 1 Introduction and scope 2 Pension provision in the UK: overview Part 2: Employers and Pension Obligations 3 Employment contracts and pensions 4 Funding obligations on employers 5 Automatic enrolment 6 Auto enrolment: prohibition on employer inducement 7 Employer’s duty to provide written details of pension arrangements: ERA 1996, s 1 8 Pensions as pay: compulsory schemes/deduction of employee contributions 9 Limited implied employer obligation to advise on financial matters or inform about pension options: Scally 10 Employer liability – negligent advice 11 Maternity and paternity rights and pensions Part 3: Unlawful discrimination and pensions 12 Discrimination and pensions: sex discrimination 13 Discrimination and pensions: age discrimination 14 Age discrimination and pensions: money purchase arrangements 15 Age discrimination: objective justification 16 Age discrimination: flexible benefit issues 17 Discrimination and pensions: civil partners and same-sex marriage 18 Discrimination issues – temporal service limits 19 Discrimination issues: liability of pension trustees 20 Liability for helping unlawful discrimination Part 4: Employment contracts: changing pensions 21 Employment contracts – the contractual pension promise and powers to change 22 Does the employment contract allow the employer to vary the benefits under the pension scheme? 23 Implied consent or waiver from employees 24 Forcing change by terminating contracts and re-hiring 25 Changes to pension benefits: potential discrimination claims 26 Contractual promises – consideration and enforceability 27 New hires with different pension benefits to existing employees 28 Employers changing discretionary policies: implied term based on custom and practice 29 Contracts between employer and member reducing benefits bind the scheme: South West Trains 30 Non-pensionable pay 31 Salary sacrifices and pensions 32 Employer liens and charges over pension benefits Part 5: Employer’s Powers and Consultation 33 Employer powers: implied mutual duty of trust and confidence (MDTC) 34 Trust and confidence: the ‘Imperial Duty’ and the pensions cases 35 Imperial duty and MDTC: changing DB benefits under a pension scheme: Prudential/IBM/BBC 36 Consumer legislation – UCTA 1977 and CRA 2015 37 Consultation about pension benefit changes: PA 2004 38 Works councils and pensions 39 Pension change: consultation under TULRCA 1992 40 Role of the pension trustees in relation to benefit amendments 41 ERA 1996: protection for an employee acting as a trustee Part 6: Tupe and pensions 42 Tupe and pensions: general 43 Tupe: general exclusion of transfer of occupational pensions – reg 10 44 Tupe: What is an ‘occupational pension scheme’? 45 Tupe: Personal pensions and stakeholders 46 Tupe: Pension changes and constructive dismissal: reg 10(3) 47 Tupe and consultation obligations on pensions 48 Tupe and Beckmann: ‘Old Age, Invalidity or Survivors’ Benefits’: reg 10(2) 49 Tupe: practical issues on old age benefits remaining after P&G 50 TUPE and Beckmann: how is any transferred benefit calculated? 51 Tupe: could the seller be liable (if the buyer fails to provide) a ‘Beckmann’ benefit? 52 Tupe transfer: potential trigger of enhanced benefits under a pension scheme? 53 Tupe and business transfers: PA 2004 – (limited) obligation for future benefits 54 Public sector transfers Part 7: Cessation of employment and pensions 55 Enhanced pension benefits on cessation of employment – what is ‘retirement’? 56 Termination of employment – wrongful dismissal: pension loss 57 Damages: offsetting pensions paid 58 Termination of employment: loss of life cover 59 Termination of employment – unfair dismissal: pension loss 60 Termination: agreeing a compensation sacrifice or adjustment 61 Offsetting pensions against redundancy payments: 1965 Regulations