The Importance of Pension Auto-Enrolment

Employment

15 Sep

Written By Nash & Co Solicitors

Written by Karen Bussell | Employment Law | 15th September 2020

The London-based business, which has 5,000 employees, failed to properly enrol a number of its staff into the company pension scheme and made incorrect contributions for others…. and then failed to heed a penalty notice issued by TPR.

Fine tuning pension auto-enrolment: penalties for non-compliance

Ignoring The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has cost an unnamed employer £350,000:

Following TPR’s intervention, the company has re-enrolled some 40 staff and paid more than £100,000 in backdated contributions – plus the hefty fine.

“This size of fine is rare as the vast majority of employers now consider auto enrolment to be an everyday part of running their business and helping workers to save. However, this case is a stark warning that failing to address problems early can lead to hefty fines which could be avoided. We do not want to fine businesses, we want them to meet their legal duties and we are here to help them do this.”
TPR director of automatic enrolment Darren Ryder

With more than 200,000 employers having now met their re-enrolment responsibilities and tens of thousands of small employers (those with fewer than 50 staff) approaching the third anniversary of their staging date, TPR reports that its relationship supervision teams are mostly finding high standards and well-run schemes however fines worth £68.6m were issued for failure to comply with pension duties in 2018 fiscal year – a record in the five years in which the watchdog has been issuing penalties.

Ryder adds: “This case also demonstrates it’s vital to carry out both ongoing duties and re-enrolment correctly. We will take action to ensure that not only are staff put into a pension but they continue to receive the correct contributions on an ongoing basis, and that those who opt out are re-enrolled correctly and given their right to start saving.”

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The Importance of Pension Auto-Enrolment

Fine tuning pension auto-enrolment: penalties for non-compliance

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