For the first time, the Pensions Regulator has publicly named those employers who have not met their auto-enrolment responsibilities.

They have published the names of those employers who have secured a court order for not fulfilling their auto-enrolment responsibilities and not paying the fine for non-compliance.

Any employers who have paid their fine but still remain non-complaint are also listed.

The information made public on the Pensions Regulator’s website gives the employer’s name, the penalty amount and the first part of their postcode. The lists can be viewed in full here.

Compliance

In the latest compliance and enforcement quarterly bulletin covering 1^st January – 31^st March 2017, it was noted that, in general, there is a high level of compliance. Over 500,000 employers have now fulfilled their auto-enrolment responsibilities, but there are still some employers who are refusing to observe the rules.

In the bulletin, it says there were:

• 40,206 compliance notices
• 4,763 Fixed Penalty Notices (A fine of £400 is issued for not observing the notice or some specific employers’ duties.)
• 1,043 Escalating Penalty Notices (This is issued if an employer does not comply with the Fixed Penalty Notice. It can be between £50 and £10,000 per day until it has been paid.)
• 284 inspections to check for compliance.

The Pensions Regulator has also made clear that those who flout the rules may face “additional enforcement action against them, including prosecution in appropriate cases”.

No excuses

The Pensions Regulator says that “there really are no excuses for not complying with the law”.

Avoiding your auto-enrolment duties and ignoring the notices will not make them suddenly disappear. Rather than forking out for fines, being taken to court and having your details splashed across the Pensions Regulator website, contact our Employment Law Advisers who can provide you with the guidance you need to meet your legal obligations and avoid reputational damage.