Early retirement and the legality of no pay rise and effect on pension

ahorseisahorse

Hi All, 
I have decided to post this as it really infuriates me.
I have retired a little bit early to look after my wife who had a rare form of heart attack last December.
My employer, the Science Museum, has informed me that I won't be eligible for a pay rise this year as the pay rise was announced in October and I left in the previous month. They say that they only award pay rises to staff who are in post at the time of the pay announcement. To some extent you can sort of agree with this however, because I am retiring (after 34 years of service) and will be taking my pension, not receiving this pay rise of 5% will mean I will lose out on about £15000 over the course of my pensioned years. Its not so much the pay rise back pay but the cumulative effect this has on the pension I receive every subsequent year.
My question is, is this legal? and where the hell is the heart of somewhere that you have worked for for almost your whole working life.
My union is trying their best but it is looking very unhopeful for me and my family.
Is there anyone that can help, offer advice please?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

When does the pay rise take effect from?

Stubod

?? While I am sorry for the circumstances of your early retirment I really don't understand the problem. Are you saying you expect to get a pay rise after you have left employment??...if so, why would that be and at what point after you leave employment would you expect to not get any pay rises applied..... a day, a week, a month, a year ??

comeandgo

Check your conditions.  I know with my old employer you had to still be an employee at payment time of bonuses or back dated pay rises.  If there were big bonuses in the horizon staff would stay until they were paid.

DE_612183

when I left my post and took redundancy after 20 years, my pension contact advised me to wait until one day after my birthday so I got an additional pensionable year.

sounds to me like your pension advisor in the science museum hasn't given you great advice - it may be worthwhile contacting them asn asking "why didn't you tell me to wait a month?" - of course they  may have assumed because of your situation - leaving as soon as possible was over-riding any monetary incentive to stay.

MX5huggy

Stubod said:

?? While I am sorry for the circumstances of your early retirment I really don't understand the problem. Are you saying you expect to get a pay rise after you have left employment??...if so, why would that be and at what point after you leave employment would you expect to not get any pay rises applied..... a day, a week, a month, a year ??

Pay in the public sector (and the science museum may not be strictly public sector ) is often set from the previous April eg in LG pay from April 2022 has still not been set https://www.local.gov.uk/our-support/workforce-and-hr-support/local-government-services/green-book-payscales-and-other-7

Gary1984

I'm sorry for what's happened with your wife but it is what it is. It will be too late now but for others reading in a similar situation maybe 6 weeks or so of compassionate leave before resigning proper would have been possible?

There needs to be a cut off somewhere though and despite your long service it would open a can of worms to start giving additional pay awards at their discretion.

QrizB

ahorseisahorse said:

My union is trying their best but it is looking very unhopeful for me and my family.
Is there anyone that can help, offer advice please?

Your union are better placed to help than any of us forum randoms. If they think it's not looking hopeful, it probably isn't.

ahorseisahorse

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. Just to clarify, our pay rise is due from 1st April and because the Science Museum asked the Government for more than the "permitted" 3% this year there was an even longer than usual delay whilst the Museum waited for a decision back from them for them to agree to it or not (the 5% is the best pay deal we've had in about 20 years). This came back in October and I left at the end of September. Our pay is normally settled and agreed in July but sometimes earlier. For me, it is about the pension and the ongoing effects it will have. My union as I say is not hopeful as there is nothing written in the Pay Policy and its been custom and practice to not pay for leavers for many years now.
Anyway, thanks again.

Marcon

ahorseisahorse said:

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. Just to clarify, our pay rise is due from 1st April and because the Science Museum asked the Government for more than the "permitted" 3% this year there was an even longer than usual delay whilst the Museum waited for a decision back from them for them to agree to it or not (the 5% is the best pay deal we've had in about 20 years). This came back in October and I left at the end of September. Our pay is normally settled and agreed in July but sometimes earlier. For me, it is about the pension and the ongoing effects it will have. My union as I say is not hopeful as there is nothing written in the Pay Policy and its been custom and practice to not pay for leavers for many years now.
Anyway, thanks again.

I can understand exactly while you feel you've been stung. There's another post on this forum on the same sort of theme, which makes interesting reading: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6395709/council-retirement-backdated-pay-pension#latest

Custom and practice arguments only hold water when that 'custom' has been around for a very long time (not always 'time immemorial', but certainly a hefty number of years).

I'd be tempted to give this one a go via the Pensions Ombudsman. It might get shot down at first pass, or even dismissed as outside his remit, but on the other hand...has to be worth a shot, surely? https://www.pensions-ombudsman.org.uk/can-i-complain

MX5huggy

Which pension scheme is this?