WATCH: Hot Topic Webinar: Safeway v Newton and Safeway Pension Trustees

On 13 July 2020, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Safeway Limited v (1) Andrew Newton and (2) Safeway Pension Trustees Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 869.

The judgment brought to an end the largest ever failed equalisation case in which the long-standing domestic law decision in Harland & Wolff was overturned and a reference was made to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a decision on the requirements of what was Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome in circumstances where the unequal pension benefits accruing under domestic law were defeasible benefits, in the sense of always being subject under domestic law to being retrospectively reduced by a valid exercise of the amendment power.

The final chapter of the proceedings concerned the novel question of the domestic law effect of the introduction of s.62 of the Pensions Act 1995 and whether it could constitute a domestic law measure closing the eponymous Barber window for all pension schemes within the UK with effect from 1 January 1996.

The webinar was given by Brian Green QC and Sebastian Allen, who represented the successful appellant.

The Zoom recording of the webinar can be found below.

If you have any queries please email seminars@wilberforce.co.uk