The family of a dying man allegedly lost £125,000 from his pension after the NHS delayed his medical retirement by a month.
Keith Anderson had worked for the trust running Arrowe Park Hospital for 34 years when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in October 2018.
Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust initially informed Mr Anderson he would be given ill-health retirement in January 2019, with his official retirement date falling on January 25.
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However the NHS Business Services Authority, the body responsible for managing NHS pensions, sent a letter to Mr Anderson on February 18 informing him that due to untaken annual leave his retirement date would be pushed back to March 24.
On March 4, just over two weeks after the letter was sent, Mr Anderson passed away - meaning his death would be treated as "death in service".
His widow, named in court documents as Miss Saminaden, has since brought a case against both the hospital trust and the NHS Business Services Authority at the Employment Tribunal as the executor of Mr Anderson's estate.
According to the Miss Saminaden's legal team, the delay left his estate with a £125,000 shortfall by denying him ill health retirement, affecting how his pension was paid out.
The tribunal heard after initially giving Mr Anderson a retirement date of January 25 Wirral University Hospital trust now agrees with the NHS pension body that the correct final day of employment is March 24.
Lawyers for both NHS bodies tried to have the claims struck out at a preliminary hearing in November last year, but in a written judgment published this month, Employment Judge Keith Robinson ordered the case could proceed.
Judge Robinson said: "With regard to the essence of this case, factual issues will have to be considered and that can only be done once disclosure has taken place and the parties have considered the evidence contained in the witness statements and that evidence tested in cross examination.
"In particular, the claimant’s legal representatives are keen to know what interaction there was between the first and second respondents when dealing with the issue as to whether to apply the rigorous rule set out in regulation C2(5) and what potential latitude there was to either respondent to disapply the strictures of that rule.
"The non-discrimination rule in section 61 of the Act will have to be considered in the light of the evidence and, in particular, whether simply following the rules of a pension scheme is or is not a defence to any discrimination claim."
Both Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the NHS Business Services Authority told the ECHO they could not comment on the case due to the ongoing legal proceedings.
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