Industrial Action

Absence from duty

Absence from duty due to strike action for one or more complete days will not count as a period of Scheme membership and, consequently, will not be included in the calculation of your benefits.

Reinstate membership

You can re-instate the period of Scheme membership if you make payment of 16% of the pensionable pay that you would otherwise have received during the period of industrial action. The payment will attract full tax relief in the same way as normal contributions.

Time limit

You must give written notice to your employer within 30 days of returning to work. The Pension Fund will then tell your employer to deduct your strike contributions from your next available pay.

Additional contributions

You must pay additional contributions due under the contract on the pay you would have received had you not been on strike, regardless of whether or not you opt to pay for the 16% strike re-instatement contribution.

Opt not to re-instate period of membership

Every day of membership will count in the calculation of your benefits. It may be your view that a day lost due to strike action will have little effect on the final amount of benefits at retirement.

The implications of not opting to pay will, amongst other things:

• Extend by one day the date when a member attains 2 years membership, being the period of membership necessary to be entitled to a benefit under the Scheme
• Extend by one day the date when a member attains 5 years membership, being the period of membership necessary to be entitled to an enhanced ill health pension under the Scheme
• In some cases, extend the date the 85 year rule is attained by one day
• Very marginally reduce the eventual benefits due from the Scheme because you will have one day less membership and, if you leave within 12 months of the end of the strike period, the pensionable pay used to work out your Scheme benefits could be slightly less than if you had not gone on strike.