The ongoing review of auto-enrolment

As mentioned in our previous article, auto-enrolment (AE) was introduced to help people save for later life through a pension scheme at work. Although all eligible workers should now be enrolled in their employer’s workplace pension scheme, it is the continued responsibility of employers to constantly monitor the information to avoid any potential fallouts.

Here are some of the ongoing duties you need to carry out:

• assessing the age and earnings of your staff
• managing requests to join or leave your scheme
• managing re-enrolment – though The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will contact you ahead of your re-enrolment date.

If you manage your payroll function internally, you must also:

• keep accurate records relating to your scheme
• maintain contributions every time you run payroll.

From April 2019, the contributions to workplace pensions increased to a minimum of 3% for employees and 5% for employers, meaning the combined total contributions is no less than 8%.

Failure to keep good administration of your workplace pension records, or provide TPR with correct information regarding your staff, could result in penalties and you could even face criminal prosecution.

Recently, a children’s nursery, and its Director in Merseyside were prosecuted by TPR for trying to avoid providing their staff with a workplace pension. All companies who do not comply will have their penalties listed by TPR, resulting in reputational damages.

For more information or advice regarding your children’s nursery business, please contact our dedicated EQ Healthcare team via healthcare@eqaccountants.co.uk or call your local office contact.

Alternatively, if you would like support with your payroll function, including AE, please get in touch with our EQ Accounting team on info@eqaccounting.co.uk or call 01382 312140.