Part 1: Public Service Pension Schemes Chapter 1: Schemes other than Judicial Schemes and Local Government Schemes Section 31: Application of Chapter to immediate detriment cases
This section sets out how Chapter 1 applies in relation to a person’s remediable service in an employment or office if an immediate detriment remedy has been obtained in relation to the service. In some cases, either a full or partial remedy may have been obtained for the discrimination identified by the Court of Appeal, prior to this Act and scheme regulations coming into force. Accordingly, the policy intention is to ensure that the remedy that those in this position have already received is respected, and appropriate alternative provision may be made by scheme regulations to address their individual circumstances in order to ensure that the discrimination is rectified. In particular, the intention is to ensure that these persons are not compensated twice, that the Act does not override any prior court or tribunal orders, and that there is provision for scheme regulations to make provision to correct or ‘top up’ any aspects of the remedy already provided to ensure consistent and fair treatment.
	Section 31(1) sets out that sections 2 to 30 do not automatically apply in relation to a person’s remediable service in an employment of office if an immediate detriment remedy has been obtained in relation to the service. This is to ensure that the immediate detriment remedy that has been obtained is not undermined – for example by granting a second opportunity to make an election - and that the Act does not override any prior court or tribunal orders, or any prior agreement between the scheme manager and another person. Section 31(1) does not carve out section 1 of the Act. This is so that relevant service counts as remediable service where this is necessary.
	Section 31(2) sets out that scheme regulations may make provision for those who have rights in respect of remediable service in relation to which an immediate detriment remedy has been obtained, in order to put them, so far as possible, in the position that they would have been in if there had been no relevant breach of a non-discrimination rule in relation to their service.
	Section 31(3) sets out that these provisions may include provisions to apply any of sections 2 to 30 of the Act, or to make equivalent provisions in scheme regulations, either with or without modifications. The purpose of this is to allow scheme regulations to apply particular provisions of the Act to persons who have rights in respect of remediable service in relation to which an immediate detriment remedy has been obtained, to rectify the discrimination. In some cases, achieving that may require a provision that differs from the provisions in the Act for persons with remediable service where an immediate detriment remedy has not been obtained and this section, together with the broader power contained in section 31(2), is intended to allow for that.
	Section 31(4) sets out that for the purposes of this chapter a "non-discrimination rule" is a rule that was included in a Chapter 1 legacy scheme as a result of (a) either section 61 of the Equality Act 2010, or (b) paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to EEAR(NI) 2006 Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.
	Section 31(5) sets out that a relevant breach of that rule is one that arises from the application of "transitional protection" or "tapered protection" made under section 18 of PSPA 2013 or section 18 of PSPA(NI) 2014.