Transsexual wins employment dispute

Published on 29 Jun 2010 under category: legal

A transsexual has won an employment dispute to get her pension backdated.

Christine Timbrell, 68, was born a man but had a gender reassignment operation allowing her to be legally defined as female.

The Court of Appeal ruled this week that the retired chartered accountant should be able to have pension backdated to the age of 60, which is the age at which other women receive the state pension.

A ruling against Timbrell's claim made by the government's work and pensions minister in 2008 was overruled by the Court.

HM Revenue & Customs had argued originally that Ms Timbrell's marriage to another woman meant that she could be certified as a man.

Her solicitor Andrew Skudder told This Is Sutton Coldfield: "The European law was quite clear as to how the secretary for state ought to treat Christine and the decision this week was a welcome clarification."

The case could have implications for other employment disputes that relate to pensions.

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