Perceval-Price and Others v Department of Economic Development and Others
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judgment Date | 12 April 2000 |
| Date | 12 April 2000 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
COURT OF APPEAL OF NORTHERN IRELAND
Before Sir Robert Carswell, Lord Chief Justice, Lord Justice McCollum and Lord Justice Campbell
Northern Ireland - sex discrimination - equal pay - judicial officers are workers in employment
Full-time holders of judicial posts in tribunals, such as chairmen of industrial tribunals, were "workers" in "employment" for the purposes of the provisions of Community law providing for equal pay without discrimination based on sex.
Provisions of domestic law which provided that as "statutory officers" they were not to be regarded as employed under a contract of service had to be disapplied, enabling them to bring a claim alleging sex discrimination in the terms of their employment in the industrial tribunal.
The Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland so held in dismissing appeals by way of case stated by the Department of Economic Development, Department of Health and Social Services and the Attorney-General for Northern Ireland, from the determination of a preliminary issue by which the industrial tribunal decided that it had jurisdiction to hear such claims brought by full-time holders of senior posts in tribunals in Northern Ireland.
The applicants were:
Mrs Mayo Perceval-Price, a vice-president of industrial tribunals and the Fair Employment Tribunal, having previously been a full-time chairman of industrial tribunals;
Mrs Monica Davey, a full-time chairman of industrial tribunals and a chairman of the Fair Employment Tribunal, and
Mrs Moya Brown, a social security commissioner having previously been a full-time chairman of the Social Security Appeal Tribunal and the Medical Appeal Tribunal.
Mr J. A. O'Hara, QC and Mrs M. Larkin for the applicants; Mr R. E. Weatherup, QC and Mr S. J. Shaw for the government departments.
THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE said that each applicant had lodged a claim with the industrial tribunals that she had been discriminated against by the department responsible for her tribunal in the terms of her employment: namely, the pension rights available to her, in which respect each claimed that she had been treated less favourably than a male holder of her post would be treated under the applicable pension legislation.
It was not disputed that each applicant was a "statutory officer" within the meaning of section 1(9) of the Equal Pay Act (Northern Ireland) 1970 and article...
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