Part-time judges win dispute over less favourable treatment

Part-time judges have won their claim that they were treated less favourably than their full-time colleagues.

The case involved judges employed by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the property chamber of the First Tier Tribunal. They claimed they were treated less favourably than full-time judges because their fees didn’t fully reflect the time spent writing up their judgments.

The Employment Tribunal ruled in their favour. It found that in order to remove the less favourable treatment, they should receive an additional payment of two-thirds of the daily fee for each day’s sitting.

That meant that if a judge heard a case over three days, he would be paid for two further days to cover judgment writing.

The MoJ appealed on the basis that the two-thirds rate was perverse because it over-compensated judges for multi-day hearings, and the rate should be tapered or capped for longer hearings;

However, the Court of Appeal upheld the decision. It said the MoJ had not produced any evidence to show there was anything wrong with the way the employment judge had assessed the evidence put before him and there was nothing to suggest he had reached a perverse decision that needed to be overturned.

Please contact Jackie Cuneen if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law.