James Gleeson (assisted by Emma Broster) is instructed by members of a defined benefit pension scheme to challenge the decision of their erstwhile employer (HSBC Bank) to provide a discretionary annual increase to their pension benefit which did not follow past practice in relation to the manner in which the increase was calculated. In December 2022, the trustee recommended that an increase of 14.2% be approved; however, the Bank granted only 4% increase. The Trustee of the Scheme, having considered it “seriously arguable” that the Bank’s decision did not comply with the duty of good faith applicable to a sponsoring employer exercising a personal power in these circumstances, as established by the UK Court of Appeal in IBM v Dalgleish case, has referred the determination of the dispute to the Royal Court by way of Representation procedure. These proceedings are thought to be the first of their kind to appear in the Jersey Courts and the resulting judgment will establish new territory for the Island’s jurisprudence.
