TPR issue first escalated fines for non compliance

Following the most recent compliance and enforcement of auto enrolment review in April, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have more than doubled the number of total fixed penalty notices of £400 in the three months January to March. In addition to this, TPR have also issued the very first of the escalated penalty notices, ranging up to £10,000 per day for failing to comply with the legislation following a statutory notice.

This is in line with the initial predictions that as smaller and micro businesses start to reach their staging date, more and more fines will be sent out. From the end of the three month period October to December, there were 169 penalty notices and 0 escalated notices issued. The latest figures show that there were 198 fixed penalties issued to bring a total of 367 fixed penalty notices issued since the beginning of auto enrolment.

In addition to this, the first escalated penalty notices were issued with 4 penalty notices of up to £10,000 per day being handed out, the actual amounts of which are determined by the size of the business that is non-compliant.

TPR are quick to explain however that fines and penalties are definitely something that they want to avoid and stress the importance for businesses to comply. The best interests of everyone is in compliance of the legislation.

Their research shows that eight in ten smaller and medium employers have consulted an adviser to help them comply with their duties, or plan to do so.

A new step-by-step guide has been created on TPRs website to help businesses through auto enrolment and ensure that compliance is as easy as possible.

Another great way to ensure that you are compliant is to streamline the auto enrolment process by reviewing your current situation within your payroll. Assessing your employees is an extremely difficult job to do manually and some businesses even suggest that this is a full time job.

The IRIS AE Suite™ automatically assesses your employees, distributes payslips and P60s electronically and then publishes the legally required pension communications to your employees via the cloud. This all runs alongside your payroll meaning that complying with auto enrolment really is an effortless job.

Due to the capacity crunch, as more and more businesses reach their staging date, there is inevitably a squeeze on the resources available. Because of this, ensuring that your payroll and processes are all ready for auto enrolment early is extremely important to avoid disappointment and potential fines for non-compliance.

Find out how the IRIS AE Suite™ can help streamline your auto enrolment process and keep your businesses compliant 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.