Barnardo’s decision to close its defined benefit (DB) scheme means that the consultation has been closed “prematurely”, UNISON claimed.

The union today announced that it is taking legal advice about the conduct of Barnardo’s in discharging their legal obligations to consult over the scheme’s closure.

It said it would be doing this with the view of submitting a formal complaint to The Pensions Regulator.

The union also raised concerns that Barnardo’s had failed to disclose details of its apparent pension scheme deficit or details about the reasoning behind its decision.

UNISON national officer for the third sector Simon Watson said: “Our members working for Barnardo’s have every reason to feel shocked and let-down by the hasty decision to close down their current pension scheme. Anyone working for a charity knows that they will not get big pay rises or bonuses. But workers should be able to look forward to a decent pension after years of caring for others.

“Barnardo’s are bulldozing through these changes and have failed to provide the full information UNISON requested, or to be transparent about the apparent pension scheme funding deficit. The fact that the results of the pension scheme valuation will not be available made available until after the consultation has closed, smacks of a hidden agenda. It is a complete disregard for Barnardo’s statutory consultation commitments and UNISON will be challenging this attack on their workers pensions.”

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