Beware the middleware, don’t get stung

We are hearing increasing stories of companies that, after having taken on a middleware provider to deal with their auto enrolment assessment and communications, are being faced with a charge in the second year and onwards.

This happened to one of our clients who experienced a rather large, intimidating bill to continue to use the middleware solution after the first year (which was free).

Auto enrolment is an ongoing piece of legislation that every employer must deal with and adhere to on an permanent basis. Employees must be re-enrolled after three years and what some providers are doing is capturing those for a year with free auto enrolment and then sending them a bill for continuation.

One of our clients, Henshaw’s Society for Blind People experienced this very conundrum. They use IRIS software for their payroll and decided to use a middleware provider for their auto enrolment responsibilities. They too were in the position that found them using middleware that was not only about to charge them a large sum to continue, but was also extremely time consuming and in no way efficient.

Finance Manager; Janine Stone decided that enough was enough and took the decision to move over to the IRIS AE Suite™. The IRIS AE Suite™ automatically assesses your employees, publishes pension communications and distributes payslips and P60s electronically; all tied in to the payroll run, meaning no extra work or hassle.

“When we staged we went with a middleware solution to run our auto enrolment assessment and communications as it was free of charge. However, when we learnt that in a year or two there was a significant cost to continue to use the service, we reviewed our options. When comparing the middleware solution with the IRIS AE Suite™, it made perfect sense to move to the integrated and less expensive IRIS solution. I would recommend that anyone using middleware take a second look at the IRIS AE Suite™ as there are no surprise costs. In addition to this, it seamlessly integrates with your payroll to ensure that assessment and communications are simple and quick.”

 Janine Stone, Finance Manager of Henshaw’s Society for Blind People

As you can see, even after staging Henshaw’s Society for Blind People knew that moving to the IRIS AE Suite™ would prove to be a completely logical move, based on the situation that they were facing. 

The IRIS AE Suite™ can be implemented whether you have staged or not and works seamlessly with your IRIS Payroll Software meaning increased efficiency and time saving.

You can find out how the IRIS AE Suite™ can work for your business with a free demo.

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Stephanie Coward

Managing Director, HCM

Stephanie Coward is Managing Director for HCM at IRIS, where she leads the strategy, innovation and growth of the organisation’s HR and payroll portfolio. She is responsible for positioning IRIS as a trusted partner to HR professionals and ensuring its solutions support the evolving needs of modern workforces.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, Stephanie brings deep commercial and operational expertise, with a passion for improving the employee experience through technology.

Stephanie is committed to advancing IRIS’ HCM offering and helping organisations build more resilient, empowered workforces.