I enjoy the challenge of dealing with both specialisations (and others - such as insolvency). There is a lot more case law and a lot more practitioner and academic publication in the employment ‘box’, compared to the pensions ‘box’, but the two intersect in a major way. For example, implied limitations on employer discretions - the Braganza and Imperial duties; employment contracts intersecting with pension trust instruments; employer implied advisory duties (e.g. Scally).
The end of the UK/EU interim period on 31 December 2020 resulted in immediate changes to some of the cross border elements applicable to pensions. For example, the definition of ‘occupational pension scheme’ now includes schemes established in another member state. This has a knock-on impact for TUPE transfers (discussed in the book). Otherwise there have not been many material changes, but of course there is potentially more scope for Parliament to legislate outside EU boundaries (e.g. in relation to investment, where the current government is floating an enhanced investment role for both the Pension Protection Fund and occupational pension schemes.
In relation to pensions and TUPE, a potential impact will be the ending of references to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This will mean that UK courts will need to decide on the meaning of TUPE (in the light of the underlying EU acquired rights directive) rather than ask the ECJ to give a ruling (often tricky to interpret).
Probably the biggest change has been looking at challenges to employer or third party discretions in relation to pensions. There has been an increased categorisation of any implied limits as being based on the Braganza duties (in pensions and contracts and other cases) compared to the previous attempts to use the Imperial duties - the implied mutual duty of trust and confidence (MDTC). Both duties are discussed in the book.
The most challenging aspect is keeping up with the myriad changes to the legal position for both employment law and pensions law. Often this involves keeping up the date with basic contract law changes (e.g. what is consideration) or duties on employers or implied terms. This is both challenging and one of the reasons why it is such an interesting combination of areas in which to practise.
