On the go: Employers who avoid their auto-enrolment pension duties are being targeted by the Pensions Regulator in a new round of short-notice inspections.
The watchdog is focusing on employers who are suspected of breaking the law, including those who fail to put staff into a pension scheme or who make no, or incorrect, pension contributions.
It is mandatory for employers to take part in the inspections – obstruction of an inspector and failing to provide information when required to do so are criminal offences. Non-compliance could also result in fines or court action.
The regulator’s director of automatic enrolment, Darren Ryder, said: “The inspections will start this week and continue over the summer across the UK. Previous rounds of spot checks targeted employers by region, from at-risk business sectors and from random test samples – as well as employers where there was evidence of non-compliance.”
The watchdog will also be directly contacting other employers suspected of non-compliance by phone to validate the information held related to them meeting their duties, to make sure they are complying fully.
