The DWP today launched a consultation on amendments to the law governing claims from part-time workers for backdated access to occupational pension schemes.

The draft regs seek to amend s.63 of the Pensions Act 1995, s.2ZA of the Equal Pay Act 1970 (inserted by SI 2003/1656 Reg 4), and Regs 5 and 10 of the Occupational Pension Schemes (Equal Treatment) Regulations 1995.

The objective is to bring UK legislation into line with European Law, as determined by the ECJ and the House of Lords, removing the existing two-year limit on backdating successful claims and permitting a court or tribunal to order retrospective admission to the scheme as far back as 8 April 1976. (The DTI last year similarly amended Reg 8 of the Part-time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regs (SI 2000/1551) to remove the two-year limit with respect to awards made by employment tribunals. The current exercise is slightly broader in scope.)

The new draft amendments also go further in addressing a minor fault found by the ECJ with the provision that claims for retrospective membership must be made within six months of leaving the relevant employment. Where there is an intermittent work pattern, but a stable employment relationship, the six months runs from the end of the final period of employment with the relevant employer (instead of separate claims having to be made within 6 months of the end of each contract).

The GAD has estimated that, in addition to the 50,000 claims already lodged with Employment Tribunals, the total potential number of future cases where the claimant is currently in employment, or left within the previous 6 months, is 150,000 in the public sector and 200,000 in the private sector. If all of these actually made a claim (highly unlikely in view of the substantial backdated contributions which the employees themselves will have to stump up), the total net costs to employers could exceed £2 billion.