Labour Court recommends bridging pension supplement for future Certus early retirees

The Labour Court recommended that Certus provide a bridging pension supplement to employees granted early retirement after 11 May 2015, the date the recommendation was signed. It recommended no change for employees who had already left under the terms then offered. The dispute concerned whether a 2010 early-retirement agreement preserved an earlier supplement arrangement. Unite said the agreement’s worked example included the supplement, while Certus argued that neither the agreement nor the scheme documents provided for it and that former employees had accepted full-and-final settlements. The Court found the agreement’s illustrative table, drafted by management, could be understood as preserving the previous arrangement. It said Unite’s interpretation was cogent and should be accepted.