With the penalties for non-compliance potentially having a large financial impact on employers, it is important to understand the pitfalls.
Among the most common mistakes that a small business might make with regards to auto-enrolment are:
- not aligning our staging date with payroll payment dates (you can do this by postponing your start date)
- starting the process too late
- forgetting or not realising that regular updates to The Pension Regulator are still required once running auto-enrolment.
With these common mistakes in mind, here is auto-enrolment broken down into manageable steps:
Now
Get your staging date – you need to use your 1 April 2012 payroll information on The Pension Regulator website.
6 months before your staging date
Choose your pension scheme or check if your current one is suitable for auto-enrolment.
On your staging date
Assess your workforce – who is eligible for auto-enrolment?
Enrol those who have not opted out.
Begin contributing.
Within 6 weeks after your staging date
Communicate the changes – your employees need to be made aware of the changes to their pay and the scheme you are using.
Within 5 months after your staging date
Complete a declaration of compliance – this must be sent to the regulator and records keeping initiated.
Auto-enrolment can look like an intimidating mountain to climb for smaller businesses, but we can help you get the best out of the process 1 step at a time.
We can help you with successfully implementing auto-enrolment. Download our guide to Payroll and Auto-Enrolment services at www.bwm.co.uk/services/payroll or contact Vicki Harper, Director of Client Services at vicki.h@bwm.co.uk.
