Part-time judges are entitled to the same pension, pro-rata, as full-time judges, the Supreme Court has ruled today.

Up until now, full-time judges have received a judicial pension while part-time workers have not benefited from the same entitlements. The ruling stems from the O’Brien versus the Ministry of Justice case, whereby Mr. O’Brien (a recorder) appealed against the fact that he would not be given a pension on retirement.

The Supreme Court had to decide whether judges are ‘workers’ for the purposes of the Part-time Workers Regulations 2000 and whether excluding recorders from judicial pension schemes was objectively justified.

Browne Jacobsen employment partner Edward Benson, who acted for Mr O’Brien, said: “We are delighted to have cleared the final hurdle that will ensure fair treatment for part-time judges. This decision also has wider implications and will be an important yardstick for part-time workers in ensuring that they cannot be treated less favourably just to save the employer money.”

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