Auto-enrolment has been gradually phased in over recent years starting with the largest employers and you may have seen the adverts on television stating ‘We’re all in’. The purpose of this is to help more people save for their retirement.
From the 1st June 2015, small organisations with up to 30 employees will gradually have to offer a pension scheme to staff. The programme is still being phased in, but the latest wave will include those people who only employ one person.
Auto-enrolment will apply to you if:
- your employee is aged 22 or over and
- your employees earns more than £10,000 per year. (This equates to £192 a week or £833 a month)
Employers and employees both have to contribute to the pension scheme with the employer’s contribution starting at 1% of pensionable pay and rising to 2% in October 2017 and then 3% in October 2018.
There is a penalty of £400 for failing to auto-enrol qualifying employees into a pension scheme so it is important that you check when this applies to you, known as your staging date, and start to prepare.
Information and help is available to guide you through the process from the Pensions Regulator at www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk
For more infomation on Employment Legislation issues please contact Sheila Watson on Sheila.Watson@hartlepool.gov.uk.