TPR urges employers to carry on with auto-enrolment duties

In a blog post on Thursday, Mel Charles, TPR’s director of auto-enrolment, urged employers to continue to assess staff, carry out re-enrolment duties and sign up new employees into a pension. 

“We also urge start-up businesses now opening their doors to make sure they enrol eligible staff into a pension and complete their declaration of compliance on time,” he wrote. 

Charles explained that he understood that some business sectors are at greater risk of non-compliance than others. Most often these are companies that historically employ part-time or seasonal staff with fluctuating earnings, he noted. 

“We are now looking at the unique challenges within these sectors so that we can best support them and ensure they have access to the information they need to avoid non-compliance”, he said. 

Earlier this year, TPR welcomed the news that following a Supreme court hearing Uber would be automatically enrolling their staff into a workplace pension. 

In the blog, Charles called for all “employers in this sector to step up and do the right thing for their staff”. 

“Anyone who employs staff should assess them to check if they are eligible for auto-enrolment and ensure they receive the pensions they are entitled to,” he noted.

Charles warned, however, that TPR treats “all employers the same and we will take enforcement action where appropriate to ensure all savers are protected, no matter what sector they work in”.

He also noted that employers must be prepared for the winding down of the government’s Covid-19 support for businesses. 

He said: “We have been consistently clear that since the start of the pandemic that while the workplace has changed, workplace pensions duties have not.

“Automatic enrolment duties remain the same and must be fulfilled alongside all other requirements for running a business.”. 

Charles advised that struggling employers should not “put their head in the sand” and wait for a fine. 

In the first instance, companies should speak to their pension provider, as many may work with employers to set up a payment plan so that staff receive the correct contributions, he explained. 

For businesses hugely affected by the pandemic, Charles stated that TPR’s focus will be to work with insolvency practitioners and the Insolvency and Redundancy Payment Services so that staff do not miss out on their pensions.  

He added: “Throughout the pandemic, we have closely monitored employers behaviour and despite the constantly changing environment, compliance with the law has remained high. 

“Employers have continued to do the right thing for their staff and have continued to make pension contributions.”

“Despite the financial pressures faced by individuals, staff have continued to save for their future retirement and opt-out levels have remained low,” he noted. 

“We will continue to support employers to do the right thing so that staff receive the pensions they are due”, he concluded.