News

Widowers now enjoy the same rights as widows under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, but there is the problem of past treatment of men who could not claim benefits under the previous regime. One man forced the government to consider his case and give him payments, but he had to go to Strasbourg to do it.

David Fielding married in 1973 and had three children (in 1974, 1976 and 1988). His wife, who died in 1996, had worked throughout the marriage, only taking breaks to have the three children, and paid full social security contributions as an employed earner. He works full-time, pays the mortgage on the family home and supports himself and the children, the two oldest of whom were currently at university, and the youngest of whom lives at home and goes to a childminder.

In January 1997, Fielding applied for a widow's payment and a widowed mother's allowance, payable under the Social Security and Benefits Act 1992. He was told that his claim was invalid because the regulations governing the payment of widows benefits were specific to women. An appeal against such a decision was bound to fail given that no UK social security benefits were then paid to widowers. Fielding also applied for bereavement tax allowance, but was informed that he did not qualify, because the law provided only for payments to widows.

He applied to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 1997. On 9 April, 2001 the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 came into force, making bereavement benefits available to both men and women.

Fielding reached a friendly settlement in which the United Kingdom government which agreed to pay him £14,573 (which it said was the amount he would have received in widow's payments and widowed mother's allowance from his wife's death until 9 April, 2001, and the amount the widow's bereavement tax allowance would have been worth to him) plus £5,000 for legal costs and expenses.

Comment:

The government gave in to the inevitable. Fielding was clearly on strong ground, and the change in legislation would have been necessary, even if not prompted by this case. It will be interesting to see what happens to other men in the same situation as Fielding.

Bernadette Livesey

Human Rights Solicitor

Walker Morris