The NEU has won a significant victory which has finally secured
full equality on survivors' pension rights in the Teachers'
Pension Scheme.
The NEU brought a claim for discrimination against the
Government. Following negotiations the Government is no longer
defending the claim and accepts that all surviving widowers,
widows and civil partners should receive survivor pensions
calculated on the basis of all of their spouse/partner's service
from April 1972 onwards.
The court case stemmed from the Government's response to the
Supreme Court decision in the 'Walker' case, which decided that
same-sex married couples and civil partners should have the same
rights to survivor pensions as opposite-sex married couples. The
Government chose to give same-sex spouses and civil partners the
right to survivor pensions for all service from April 1972, the
existing provision for opposite-sex widows. The glaring exception
was for male widowers of female teachers, where it tried to
maintain the existing provision which only covered service after
April 1988. The Government has now conceded that this
discrimination cannot be maintained and that the applicable date
in such cases should also now become April 1972.
Dr Mary Bousted, Joint General Secretary of the National
Education Union, said:
“It is a pity that in the 21st century the Government could not
concede immediately that discrimination by sex and sexual
orientation is wrong. All married couples and civil partners must
receive the same treatment.
“The NEU calls on the Government to apply this principle of equal
treatment across the whole public sector immediately.“