Policy News Journal - 2015-16

 An introduction to automatic enrolment (3 mins) – Charles Counsell talks about what employers need to do to comply with their duties and where to go for information

For business advisers

 How to plan for automatic enrolment (5 mins) – Heather Prescott talks about how business advisers can help clients plan for automatic enrolment  How to assess your client's workforce for automatic enrolment (3 mins) – Toby Christie talks about how business advisers can help their clients with assessing their workers  How to use payroll software for automatic enrolment (6 mins) Heather Prescott talks about what business advisers need to consider when it comes to their client’s payroll software and chosen pension scheme

Webinar recording

TPR also held a webinar in July which covered assessing and enrolling staff – who has duties and who is exempt and helping your client choose a pension scheme – what are you allowed to say to your clients or their staff? The webinar/PDF are now available to view/download .

Automatic enrolment Compliance and Enforcement Bulletin 4 August 2015

The Pensions Regulator has warned of potential pitfalls to automatic enrolment compliance in its latest quarterly bulletin.

The latest automatic enrolment compliance and enforcement bulletin includes details of how many times the regulator has used its statutory powers between April and June this year. It is the last bulletin primarily representing medium sized businesses who have implemented automatic enrolment and illustrates that most employers in this group have complied without the need for the regulator to use its powers. However, the bulletin also highlights lessons to be learned for small and micro employers. In particular it shows employers with seasonal and temporary staff must take care when assessing workers or postponing staff. These types of employers include recruitment businesses, construction firms, bars and restaurants, caterers and shop owners. These types of employers are reminded to ensure they assess all staff and if they choose to use postponement they must inform staff within six weeks of their staging date  New figures show compliance with automatic enrolment continues to be the norm.  Between April and June 2015: 119 compliance notices; 50 unpaid contributions notices; 68 fixed penalty notices; 0 escalating penalty notices.  With tens of thousands of small and micro employers starting out on their automatic enrolment journeys in the coming months, the regulator has warned of potential pitfalls to come.  Lessons learned: Employers with seasonal and temporary staff must take care when assessing workers or postponing staff.  Employers who do not comply with their duties on time should be aware they will have to pay any missing pensions contributions that occur because of the delay. The strategy and policy explains the circumstances where the regulator will require contributions to be backdated. Key points from the bulletin include: “My message to small and micro employers is to ensure you leave enough time and be clear about what you will need to do to comply. We publish lessons learned to help employers avoid common pitfalls and all the information you need is on our website. We are here to help – but we will take action if an employer is wilfully non-compliant.” The bulletin has been published at the same time as the regulator’s updated compliance and enforcement strategy and policy which details the regulator’s approach to identifying, deterring, preventing and tackling non- compliance and reflects lessons learned to date about the particular compliance challenges for small and micro employers. Charles Counsell, executive director for AE:

CIPP Policy News Journal

25/04/2016, Page 327 of 453

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