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Speedy pension auto-enrolment help for smaller employers

The pension auto-enrolment experts at Clayton & Brewill in Nottingham were tested recently when a farming client asked for help with getting a workplace pension in place – just five days before their ‘staging date’.

Payroll Manager and pension auto-enrolment adviser Sarah Pownall (pictured) explains:

“In an ideal world we would recommend that businesses take at least six months to prepare for pension auto-enrolment. This gives you time to find the best pension scheme for your business, conduct all the necessary employee communications and make sure your payroll system can cope with the change.

“In reality though, many smaller businesses just don’t get round to thinking about implementing pension auto-enrolment until their staging date is nearly upon them. We were pleased to be able to help our client get sorted with just five days to go – but we would always recommend allowing more time for planning where possible!”

What is pension auto-enrolment?

Pension auto-enrolment is the new workplace pension legislation and it affects every employer. The aim of auto-enrolment is to encourage individuals to save for their retirement and, under the regulations, all businesses will ultimately need to make a minimum pension contribution of three per cent per eligible employee.

What do employers need to do?

The first thing to do is to find out your ‘staging date’. This will be on the ‘nominate a contact‘ letter that you should have received from The Pension Regulator. If you don’t have this letter to hand, you can find out your staging date here – you will need to know your PAYE number. Once you know your staging date you then need to make a plan to:

Assess your workforce for eligibility to calculate how much each should contribute and who is in and out of the scheme.

Review any existing pension arrangements for suitability and compliance and identify a new pension scheme if necessary.

Assess your payroll software for its suitability to handle  contributions and deductions.

Establish a clear communication plan for staff, including reviewing employment contracts to accommodate pension changes.

How can Clayton & Brewill help with pension auto-enrolment?

Based in Nottingham and with offices in Long Eaton and Melton Mowbray, Clayton & Brewill’s specialist payroll team can help you to work out how best to tackle auto-enrolment and guide you through the steps you need to take.

We can take away the fear factor and guide you through the steps to a successful auto-enrolment: whether you’ve 12 months or 12 days you will be in safe hands with Clayton & Brewill.

Contact the Clayton & Brewill auto-enrolment experts on 0115 950 3044 or click here to email us.