Auto Enrolment Confusion
There is much auto enrolment confusion with nearly half of employers staging for auto enrolment in the next two years being confused about their responsibilities, according to research.
The survey by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) found that 45% of those asked were unclear on the rules, while 25% feared their business might not be able to cope with the extra cost.
John Allan, FSB national chairman, said: “Our message for small employers is that auto enrolment is coming and will affect your business. The sooner you get to grips with what you need to do, the better off you will be.”
Over the next two years more than a million small and micro businesses will need to set up a workplace pension for their employees under the Government’s automatic enrolment rules. January sees the number of employers reaching their designated staging date – the date on which they need to start complying with auto-enrolment – rapidly ramp up with tens of thousands ‘staging’ each month in 2016 and 2017.
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has expressed concern that smaller employers are leaving their auto-enrolment preparations too late to comply on time.
Up to half a million small and micro employers must act this year to meet their new workplace pensions duties or risk a fine, the regulator has warned.
All of these employers have received letters from TPR alerting them to when their auto enrolment duties start, and reminding them to act.
Despite the message to prepare early, it is expected that a number of small employers will leave it too late to fulfil their duties or take no action at all. However,TPR warns that failing to prepare on time risks avoidable compliance action.
Charles Counsell, TPR’s executive director for auto enrolment, said: “We are concerned that a minority of smaller employers are leaving things too late and struggling to comply on time. We are helping employers avoid this by alerting them in good time to their duties and giving them the tools they need to meet them”.
Highland Payroll Services suggest employers should start planning 6 months before their duties start. We can help in this process click here.
For FSB members in Moray, Highland Payroll Services are making a presentation on auto enrolment. This is being held on Wednesday 16th March 2016 in Elgin. Please contact the area secretary for details/tickets.
Auto Enrolment confusion from Highland Payroll Services
