Have you heard a co-worker, colleague or business associate talking about auto-enrolment recently? If yes, but you’re not sure what this entails, read on.
While auto-enrolment might sound like throwaway jargon, it is actually a handy term to describe the recent changes in UK legislation for pension schemes. If you employ people, it’s now your responsibility to set up a pension scheme for all of your staff. In addition, employers must also continually assess each employee on an individual basis and adjust their premium accordingly. All of this information must be documented and record of the fluctuating payments must be kept.
A WHOLE LOT OF LEGWORK
To avoid incurring hefty penalties and fees for failing to meet the criteria imposed by the new legislation, there is a sizable amount of work involved. Before a pension scheme compliant with the new regulations can be set up, an employer might be obliged to:
- Calculate the total number of workers under their responsibility, which sometimes can include non-employees
- Determine which individual employees are eligible for the auto-enrolment programme
- Work out which scheme they are going to apply to their workforce
- Settle upon the amount of contributions to the pension to be made across the board
- Ensure there is a functioning system in place for dealing with employee assessment on a case-by-case basis and for calculating the specific pension based on each employee’s unique and changing circumstances
- Open suitable channels of communication with the concerned individuals
- Failure to meet any of the above conditions could result in significant penalties. Fines can range from £50 per day for companies with 1-4 employees, all the way up to £10,000 on a daily basis for those companies with more than 500 employees.
Obviously, avoiding these fees is essential, but it doesn’t have to be quite such a headache.
AUTO-ENROLMENT SERVICES AT UWM ACCOUNTANTS
Meeting the requirements enforced by the new legislation might seem like an impossible task, but it doesn’t have to be. At UWM Accountants, our qualified team integrate pension schemes and analysis systems for businesses, helping turn auto-enrolment into child’s play.
We offer three tiered auto-enrolment packages – essential, full and premium – all of which are designed to provide differing levels of support to suit all budgets. From determining your staging date (the date at which the legislation applies to your business) to providing ongoing analysis of the particular circumstances of each and every employee in your company, we are there with you every step of the way. We also offer affordable start-up rates on a sliding scale, depending on the level of service package you choose and the number of employees in your business.
Does all of this sound a little overwhelming? Fear not! This simple and insightful video breaks down the legislation into its bare bones, explaining what needs to be done and how we can help.
If you’re still not satisfied and would like to discuss your business with one of our friendly, qualified team, call us on 0113-231-0202 or email us at mail@uwm.co.uk today. We’re just a phone call away!
