Glasgow businesses warned about auto-enrolment spot checks

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has started spot checks in Glasgow to make sure employers are complying with their auto-enrolment duties.

It is the second Scottish city to be targeted recently after Edinburgh.

Inspection teams will visit dozens of businesses in and around Glasgow over the coming weeks to check staff are being given the workplace pensions they are entitled to.

The move is part of a nationwide enforcement campaign which began in London in April.

The checks will help TPR understand whether employers are facing any unnecessary challenges which they can be assisted with, for example helping them get their systems in place.

But they will also highlight employers who have not taken the required steps to become or remain compliant - paving the way for enforcement action.

Warning

Darren Ryder, TPR’s director of auto-enrolment, said: “The vast majority of employers become compliant ahead of their deadline, but these visits help us to identify why some have not, so we can take action where we need to.

“Every employer has workplace pension duties and we are determined that every worker gets the pension they are entitled to.

“Automatic enrolment is not an option, it’s the law. Where we find employers are not complying with the law, we will use our powers to make them comply.”

As of the end of April, up to 4,000 employers in Glasgow had met their workplace pensions duties and as a result around 78,000 staff across the city have been automatically enrolled into a pension.

Between now and the end of the year, another 2,000 Glasgow employers will see the start of their duties and will need to put eligible staff into a pension scheme.

Across the UK, 640,000 employers have met their automatic enrolment duties with more than eight million workers now saving into a pension as a result.

How we can help

Auto-enrolment affects all employers in the UK.

Aberdein Considine has already helped small and medium enterprises of all s prepare for auto-enrolment and we continue to help by providing cost effective solutions.

To find out how we could help your business, click here.