The Pensions Regulator Issues Warning to Employers

The Pensions Regulator has recently conducted a series of in-depth compliance checks on 20+ large employers across the UK. The inspections uncovered a number of errors when it came to complying with auto enrolment duties. Employers and payroll processors have a lot of on-going auto enrolment duties that they need to stay on top of. Examples of non-compliance with auto-enrolment duties can include:

• Incorrect earnings thresholds being used

• Not enrolling or re-enrolling eligible employees into a pension scheme

• Not keeping up to date with pension contributions

• Non declaration or re-declaration of compliance

• Not paying at least the minimum contribution levels into your pension scheme

• Not properly managing requests to join or leave your pension scheme, and not keeping accurate records

• Not keeping records of how you’ve met your legal duties

Failure to comply with your duties can result in penalties. As well as that, you might need to backdate any missed contributions.

Incorrect earnings thresholds were one of the key errors that were uncovered in the compliance check. This can lead to employees not receiving the pension contributions that they are due.

The Pensions Regulator will continue to monitor employers, no matter their size, to ensure employees are receiving the correct contributions. So, it’s important that you stay on top of your duties if you want to avoid any fines.

Read HMRC’s December Employer Bulletin in full.

How your payroll software can help make compliance easy

BrightPay is a payroll software that automates auto enrolment, and makes staying on top of your duties easy by:

• Constantly monitoring employees’ eligibility for you, in the background

• Notifying you when an employee becomes eligible

• Notifying you when employees need to be re-enrolled

• Automatically generating letters for you to send to staff to inform them on how auto enrolment applies to them

• Allowing you to easily create customised reports on how you have met your legal duties

• Producing contribution files and enrolment files to upload to your pension provider

• Allowing you to easily upload files by being compatible with 18 different workplace pension providers and including direct API integration with NEST, The People’s Pension, Smart Pension and Aviva

By automating these processes, it gives you peace of mind that your auto enrolment duties are being taken care of.

This content may have been developed with the assistance of AI tools. Content is reviewed by a member of the Bright team before publication. Guidance on legislation can be obtained from your industry body.