Warning on pension auto-enrolment

All employers will have to enrol their workers into a pension scheme over the next months and years, and both the employer and employee will have to make contributions.

The new workplace reforms do not apply to all employers at the same time, but the first point of action for all employers is to find out when it will affect them.

Burgis & Bullock partner Sean Farnell said: “Each individual employer will have been allocated a staging date, based on the number of people in their PAYE scheme. Unfortunately 25 per cent of small employers have no idea that they need do anything, and 59 per cent have no idea how much setting up and running a workplace pension will cost them in terms of time and money.

“Even if your staging date is a while off, you still need to be aware of your statutory duties and make plans to ensure you will be ready at the appropriate time. Remember these dates are deadlines that cannot be extended and very severe penalties will be imposed for non-compliance. For example, even the smallest firms can be fined £500 per day if things go wrong, and a soft furnishings retailer has recently been fined £143,000 which shows the pensions regulator is not afraid to use his powers.”

Burgis & Bullock can help ease the burden of Auto Enrolment and we will be hosting a series of free workshops over the coming months in local offices. To find out more contact Jenny Frost on 01926 468702 or email her at [email protected]