Firefighters’ injury awards outside Ombudsman’s remit

The High Court has upheld the Pensions Ombudsman’s decision to discontinue an investigation into a former firefighter’s claim for an injury award under the Firefighters’ Compensation Scheme. In R (Farrell) v The Pensions Ombudsman [2026] EWHC 2812 (Admin), Kolinsky J held that the complaint fell outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.

Mr Farrell was already receiving an ill-health pension under the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme 1992. He also claimed an injury pension and gratuity after being injured during a training session at work. The Ombudsman accepted jurisdiction in 2020, then discontinued the investigation in 2025 following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Clark, which concerned a police disablement gratuity.

Applying Clark, the judge held that retirement was a condition of the award, but entitlement arose from permanent disablement caused by a qualifying injury. The rules expressly allow disablement to arise after retirement. The judge also concluded that, viewed as a whole, the Firefighters’ Compensation Scheme was a scheme for compensating qualifying injuries and fell outside the statutory definition of an occupational pension scheme.

The judgment can be found here.