We are 5 months into 2016 and it’s been nearly 5 years since the first company auto-enrolled their employees into a pension scheme.
The Regulator has increasingly demonstrated its willingness to clamp down and fine those companies not complying with their staging date and the new workplace pension rules.
One notable recent fine was levied against Swindon Town Football Club, with the club having to pay £20,000 in penalties. From an initial penalty notice of £400, the fine rose quickly due to the company’s inaction towards the warnings notices. The fine was calculated at a rate of £2500 a day.
The Pensions Regulator has continued to issue guidance, but even so it is not surprising that we are seeing the number of whistleblowing and enforcement actions increase as the number of employers subject to auto-enrolment grow substantially. The increase in the number of companies having to auto-enrol beckons the increase in the Pensions regulators effort to deal with non-compliance.
This serves as a wake-up call for employers. The regulator has the legislative power to impose fines and is doing so. Simply ignoring auto-enrolment is not an option.
If you are an employer and all this sounds a little confusing – call Platinum and we’ll guide you through the process.