Are you ready for auto enrolment and what does auto enrolment mean for nursery staff? Do you know when your ‘staging date’ is? There is a lot of jargon out there which is confusing and time consuming to plough through, especially when you are a busy nursery owner. There is so much information to consider and it is no surprise that this can be a daunting prospect – but this is something to ignore at your PERIL:-
So What is auto enrolment?
In a nutshell, under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put certain employees into a pension scheme and contribute towards this.
What happens if I don’t do this?
This is not something that you can ignore. The pension regulator may take enforcement action and issue a notice and or a penalty. This could ultimately end in court action!
When do I need to start looking at this?
If you haven’t already started then the simple answer is NOW – small businesses with less than 30 employees may need to have this in place as early as July 2016 – Less than a month away!!
How do you prepare for Auto Enrolment?
Plan – this is key, we would advise that you plan well in advance to prevent rushing at the last minute
- Check your current pension arrangements to see if they meet the requirements
- Find out your staging date:-
- For Companies with less than 30 employees it could be as soon as July 2016 – less than a month away?
- For your exact staging date log onto the Pension Regulators website http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/employers/staging-date.aspx
- Assess your workforce to determine who is eligible:-
- Employees between the age of 22 and state pension age
- Have earnings of over £10,000 per year
- Work in the UK
- Communicate with your employees – you have a legal duty to advise them of their changing pension rights:-
- Advise the level of contributions you are going to give as an employer
- Inform your employees of the starting date for this
- Review requests for opting out (please note that this is only an option if your employees are already in a pension scheme that meets the criteria – evidence must be submitted)
It is very easy to see why some Managers take the ‘ostrich’ approach and bury their head in the sand, however auto enrolment is not going away and it really isn’t difficult to ensure that you are compliant.
If you haven’t got anything in place yet then don’t panic. We work in partnership with a pensions auto enrolment company who will be able to get you on track. They offer a complete online solution that takes you through every step along the way. To learn more about this service then please follow this link https://www.thenurseryhrpeople.co.uk/in-partnership-with-ae-in-a-box/.
Thank you for taking time to read this blog, I hope you have found it helpful in highlighting some pointers for auto enrolment and the importance of planning to ensure that you are legally compliant.
Ruth Lewin
Director,
The Nursery HR People Limited
01509 833 121
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