Thousands of NHS workers will not receive full pension

Unions have warned employees whose duties are split between more than one contract will only be auto-enrolled on those for which they earn more than £7,545 (the minimum salary required for auto-enrolment) – meaning any pay accrued via second jobs or subcontractual work totalling less than this amount will not be included in pensionable pay.

The loophole will mainly affect low earners with numerous contracts of employment under the same public sector employer, and who are not already enrolled into a pension scheme, with a disproportionate number in the NHS.

A spokesperson at Unite the Union said the issue is being pushed aside by the NHS, which is currently reluctant to take action because other pensions issues, such as changes to the pension scheme, are “more pressing”.

“We are aware of this situation and we are trying to work with them to deal with it before their staging date, but they have other problems they need to deal with first before they get on to resolving this,” he told PW.

And Tom Barton, senior associate at Pinsent Masons, said employers would be reluctant to make the changes due to the extra costs involved.

“This is an old chestnut in terms of employment law that will see thousands of people receiving lesser pensions than they should,” he said.

The NHS is the largest employer in the UK and has its staging date in October 2012.