On 8th February 2001 the House of Lords gave its judgment on the time limit points in the part timers’ pension litigation based on a decision of the European Court of Justice. The claims were issued on behalf of approximately 60,000 part time employees against the government and other public and private sector employers, on the basis that their exclusion from access to occupational pension schemes amounted to a breach of Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome (now Article 141 of the EC Treaty). The claiments argued that the exclusion of part time workers had a disparate impact on women and, therefore, amounted to sex discrimination which breached European Community law.
Article 119 is incorporated into UK domestic law by the Equal Pay Act 1970. This Act states that claims must be lodged within six months of the end of employment and that arrears of damages will not be awarded for more than two years prior to the date when proceedings were issued. The applicants had to establish as a
