On the go: A children’s nursery and its director have been ordered to pay £8,200 by the Pensions Regulator for failing to enrol staff in a workplace pension and misleading the watchdog.
At Brighton Magistrates Court yesterday, Sulouste Ltd, which trades as Tiny Hearts Day Nursery, was found to have failed to enrol its staff into a pension scheme and the main director, Christine Moore, was reprimanded for providing TPR with false and misleading information.
Both had pleaded guilty to the charges at the same court earlier this month.
Ms Moore had previously told TPR that her company had automatically enrolled 13 nursery staff into a pension scheme.
But a whistleblower and a subsequent investigation from the regulator revealed that while a pension scheme had been set up, no staff had been enrolled.
Judge Teresa Szagun fined Ms Moore £833 and an additional £83 victim’s surcharge was added.
The company was fined £4,915 and ordered to pay a victim’s surcharge of £170, together with prosecution costs of £2,200.
Judge Szagun said: “The mistake of failing to comply has a detrimental impact not only on the individual employee but also on society as a whole.”
Darren Ryder, director of automatic enrolment at TPR, said: “This outcome is another clear warning to employers that they must comply with their automatic enrolment duties and ensure staff receive the pension they are entitled to.
“While the vast majority of employers do the right thing, we will take action against the small number that flout the law and risk the retirements of savers.”
