Asked by: Mark Hoban (Conservative - Fareham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the number and proportion of employers scheduled to join auto-enrolment in April 2014 that are on track to meet their deadlines.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has overall responsibility for monitoring compliance with the new employer duties and employers must register with TPR and state how they are meeting the duties.
We expect around 15,900 medium employers (50-249) to stage between April and June 2014 (based on PAYE information as at 1 April 2012).
Research published by The Pensions Regulator in February 2014 shows that most small to medium employers (91%) were confident that their organisation would have done everything it needed to by the deadline.
The Pensions Regulator expects to publish further information on their Compliance and Enforcement work this summer.
Asked by: Mark Hoban (Conservative - Fareham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support small and medium-sized businesses that are due to automatically enrol their employees in 2014.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Pensions Regulator is focusing on educating and enabling employers of all sizes to ensure they are aware of automatic enrolment and understand what they have to do.
The Regulator has implemented an employer journey that consists of a series of letters and emails being sent to employers from 12 months prior to their staging date. As their staging date approaches each email informs the employer at what stage they should be at and also signposts employers to guidance and tools that have been provided by the Regulator.
There is a suite of tools on the Regulator's website including an interactive planning tool to assist employers in getting ready, a staging date tool to find out your staging date, and detailed guides. They have also established a customer support centre for employers to discuss any questions they may have.
The Regulator is also working with intermediaries such as software developers, payroll bureaux and trade body groups to make sure they are able to provide suitable tools, guidance or support if employers require it. Recently an employer advertising campaign has been underway to raise awareness and guide employers to the regulator's website to help them in their preparations.
Throughout the initial roll out of automatic enrolment the Regulator has been assessing the impact of their communications and updating their products to ensure they meet the needs of the changing audience, from the UK's largest employers with thousands of workers, through to those with a small workforce. The Regulator's communications are developed following testing and research and are updated to meet the needs of the changing audience.
Based on research by The Pensions Regulator, levels of employer awareness and understanding of their automatic enrolment duties are high and showing appropriate progress towards employers being able to comply with their duties.
Asked by: Mark Hoban (Conservative - Fareham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the capacity of pension advisors and providers to support employers who are scheduled to establish workplace pensions through auto-enrolment in 2014.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Government is aware of the capacity challenges facing the pensions industry. DWP is engaging regularly with pension providers to ascertain capacity as we move through the medium employer staging dates.
We are confident that NEST will continue to accept all employers in accordance to their Public Service Obligations and will be able to overcome any challenges of employers going to them late.
Automatic enrolment has been designed so that employers do not need to take advice in order to comply with their duties although we understand that many will choose to pay for advice. The Government engages regularly with intermediaries and believes that there is capacity and interest in the market to meet demand.
Asked by: Mark Hoban (Conservative - Fareham)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that employers comply with their obligations under auto-enrolment.
Answered by Steve Webb
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has overall responsibility for enforcing compliance with the new employer duties and employers must register with TPR and state how they are meeting the duties.
TPR's focus is on educating and enabling employers to meet their duties and establishing and maintaining a 'pro-compliance' culture.
TPR writes to all employers 12 months before the date they are required to start enrolling workers, and on at least one other occasion (depending on employer size). TPR has also encouraged employers to start planning early (at least 12 months prior to their duties start date). It has provided tools and guidance to help employers plan and these are under constant review as the reforms roll out.
Some employers will fail to comply because they have not understood or have not been able to comply. Where employers do not comply, TPR will consider the circumstances of each case and, where it is appropriate to do so, work with employers to get them compliant. TPR has a graduated approach to enforcement beginning with warnings leading to statutory notices then financial penalties. Criminal prosecution will only be used in the most serious cases.