Recently the Pensions Regulator published a case relating to Johnsons Shoe Company which received fines totalling £40,000 due to non compliance with their Auto Enrolment duties.

Main Facts

  • Johnsons’ staging date was 1 May 2014
  • They were due to submit their auto enrolment declaration of compliance by 30 September 2014 but missed the deadline.
  • The Pensions Regulator repeatedly tried to communicate and educate Johnsons to enable them to meet their duties but there was a lack of action on Johnsons part
  • A Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) of £400 was issued and Johnsons took some steps to meet their duties in reaction
  • Johnsons remained non-compliant and they were issued with an Escalating Penalty Notice (EPN) in November 2015 which took effect from 8th December when further penalties accrued at a rate of £2500 per day.

Johnsons tried to argue that they should not pay the fine as the intense pressures of work were the main reason behind not meeting their duties, the Pensions Regulator, however, did not accept that there was a reasonable excuse and Johnsons was out of time to request a review of the fine.

Johnsons did eventually settle the fine as imposed along with the Pension Regulators court fees amounting to £2000.

Johnsons were more than a year late before the EPN daily penalties took effect and the original Compliance Notice was issued in April 2015.

The Pensions Regulator stated that it will engage with employers and help them to try and achieve compliance.

Note

From 1st October 2017 ALL NEW employers and all those who fall within the auto enrolment requirements for the first time after that date will have immediate legal duties to comply.

For those who have employed someone prior to 30th September 2017, the staging date can be found here

If you require assistance with fulfilling your auto enrolment duties contact us immediately here