Q and A: Pensions for part timers

Part time workers in the UK have won better pension rights after a European Court ruling. Our legal affairs correspondent Joshua Rozenberg answers the key questions.

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Why was the case brought under sex discrimination legislation ?

The European Court of Justice decided in 1994 that employers could be guilty of sex discrimination if they excluded part-time workers from occupational pension schemes. That's because most part-time workers are women.

What pension rights have part-time workers had in the UK up to now ?

They've had the same rights as full-time workers since the court ruling in 1994. But employers believed that workers couldn't have their pensions backdated beyond the two-year limit laid down by the Equal Pay Act 1970.

What will this ruling mean to part timers ?

That two-year limit won't apply. They'll be able to claim retrospective payments as far back as 1976, if they were working then.

Is this a free pay-out, or will part timers have to pay something into their pensions ?

Most pension schemes are contributory. Members will have to pay contributions before they can receive benefits. But nearly a quarter of all UK pension schemes are non-contributory. Backdated membership will be at no cost to employees.

How much could it cost employers here - and have they any right of appeal ?

Estimates range at between £10 and £17 billion. There may be some scope for argument when the case comes back to the House of Lords.

European law to give equal pension rights came in 25 years ago - why are we so out of date in Britain ?

The breadth of the equal pay provisions may not have been fully understood.

Is the UK now fully in line with the EU on all employment law ?

There are bound to be further challenges by trade unions in the future.