Automatic enrolment - non-compliant companies named
15 May 2017
Employers that have been taken to court for failing to pay fines for workplace pension non-compliance, are being publicly named on a new list.
The latest quarterly compliance and enforcement bulletin has been published, which for the first time now includes the details of every organisation that TPR has secured a court order against after the employers failed to meet their automatic enrolment responsibilities.
In each case the employer had been issued with an escalating penalty notice (EPN) by TPR for non-compliance but had failed to pay it.
Separately, TPR has published the details of every employer that continues to ignore its automatic enrolment responsibilities despite having been issued with – and having paid – an EPN.
TPR intends that publishing the lists will highlight the importance of employers meeting their automatic enrolment requirements, emphasising the large fines that can be imposed on employers if they don’t.
Two lists every quarter
The two lists published include organisations spread across the UK, from the north of Scotland to the south of England and feature small and medium-sized firms, across a range of industries and sectors.
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The first list includes 19 employers who have been given EPNs for a collective total of more than £60,000, which they have paid. However, despite having paid the EPNs, these employers continue to be non-compliant with their workplace pension duties.
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The second list includes 13 employers who were issued with EPNs for a collective total of more than £220,000. These employers failed to pay their EPNs so TPR secured court orders against them demanding payment. They include both compliant businesses, and non-compliant businesses whose cases are being reviewed over the potential for further action.
Updated lists will be published each quarter, alongside the publication of the compliance and enforcement quarterly bulletin.
Increase in inspections
The compliance and enforcement quarterly bulletin also reveals a large increase in the number of inspections of business premises carried out by TPR staff to check for compliance – part of TPR’s commitment to taking swifter and more effective action against those committing pension law offences. A total of 224 inspections were carried out in the quarter, compared to the 57 in the whole of 2016.
TPR issued 4,673 fixed penalty notices (FPN) of £400 for automatic enrolment non-compliance to employers in the first three months of 2017, up from 2,919 FPNs the previous quarter – the largest total issued to date.
A total of 1,043 EPNs were issued in the quarter, up from 870 in the last three months of 2016. This was also the highest quarterly EPN total.
The increases are in line with the expansion in the number of UK employers who have automatic enrolment responsibilities.
TPR’s full press release is available to read on their website.
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CIPP comment This news item has been revised since publication – The Pensions Regulator amended the numbers of FPNs and EPNs under Increase in inspections - see our news item from 17 May 2017. |