• restricting public expenditure is not an objective which may be relied on to justify different treatment on grounds of sex;

• different treatment of men and women may be justified, depending on the circumstances, by reasons other than those put forward when the measure introducing the difference in treatment was introduced;

• it is permissible for a pension to be reduced pro rata to take account of the fact that the pensioner worked only part time but any further reduction because he or she only worked part time is likely to be unlawful under article 141 of the EC Treaty as being indirectly sex discriminatory (the word "likely" has to be used as it is for the local national courts to decide on the facts whether and to what extent a local law affects a considerably higher percentage of women than men and whether is justified by objective factors (other than budgetary constraints) unrelated to discrimination on grounds of sex

For relevant general notes see Sex Discrimination/equal pay and terms of employment/pension schemes . and/or Pensions/part-time employees/problem areas .