Legal Advice on VAT Regulation

Questioner

In my career of 26 years there was a manager who introduced the VAT. It stated that employees after their 60th birthday could work 20% less hours with retention of pay, but also the loss of other extra days. A colleague of mine claimed that and indeed received it. Another colleague would not get it because according to them, he would not have been hired by the then company manager with the then VAT arrangement. This colleague has been employed for 20 years longer than he has (now 40 years). Now I will be 60 in 2 years and would like to know if I can make any claim on the VAT

Lawyer

These types of regulations that give entitlement to age-related rights are now quickly seen as age discrimination. I expect that the VAT regulation as you describe will soon be seen as contrary to equal treatment legislation. I am not saying that you are hopeless. If the scheme still exists, you can appeal to it. If the scheme has been abolished in the meantime, the question is what happened to the premiums that you may have paid for this. It is possible that this premium payment was in conflict with the Pensions Act. It is also possible that your employer once made a promise that can be considered a pension offer within the meaning of the Pensions Act. According to the Pensions Act, employees in the same job and salary category must be treated equally and you have the same entitlements if another employee has received a similar offer. In order to properly assess your case, it is important to be aware of the VAT regulations and to know whether and when you may have paid premiums for this.