This decision from the Court of Appeal in England & Wales may be of interest for employers and employees in Ireland, as it concerns rights under EU Directives. 

Both of these joined cases involved the right or otherwise to pension benefits and the particular dates from which entitlements might apply. O'Brien was a part-time judge and sought pension entitlements pro-rated with full-time judges.

In this particular case, the claimant sought back-dating of pension entitlements to the date he started work (1978) rather than 2000, when the Part Time Workers Directive was transposed into UK law. The Court of Appeal ruled against him - the principle of 'no retroactivity' means that EU laws should not have a retrospective effect; they