Nearly 8,000 SMEs have not made plans to fulfil their auto-enrolment requirements according to a new report from the Pensions Regulator (TPR).
TPR stated that this figure represents 20% of the employers that were due to stage during the period from 1st April to the 30th June. During the same time frame TPR issued 119 compliance notices, 50 unpaid contribution notices and 68 fixed penalty notices.
Executive Director of Automatic Enrolment Charles Counsell said: “The number of times we have used our powers remains low compared to the tens of thousands of employers who have successfully met their duties. However, as 1.8 million employers see their automatic enrolment duties switched on in the coming years we do expect to see a rise in the number of times we will need to use our powers.
“My message to small and micro employers is to ensure you leave enough time and be clear about what you will need to do to comply.”
So what should you be doing about Auto-Enrolment?
If you do not yet have a pension scheme in place you will need to know your staging date.
The staging date is the date by which you need to start enrolling your employees into a workplace pension scheme. It is based upon how many employees there are in your organisation.
If you do not yet know your staging date you can find out from TPR.
The minimum pension contribution is 2% of your employee’s pay. At least 1% has to be provided by the employer; the rest is taken from the worker’s pay and tax relief. The minimum contribution will rise to 8% by 2018, with employers having to contribute 3%.
TPR has updated its guidelines to make the Auto-Enrolment process easier to understand; however, it can still be a complicated process if you’re attempting to do it alone. HR Solutions provide a Pension Auto-Enrolment service to simplify the process for you.
