On the go: The Pensions Ombudsman has ordered Paint Hale Ltd to repay missing pension contributions to a former employee and fined the company £1,000 for the distress it caused her.
On October 21 2020, ‘Miss E’ complained to the company — having left the business in August that year — over missing pension contributions of £302.46. She submitted an application to the ombudsman on the following day.
Miss E provided payslip copies for the period of March 31 2020 to August 31 2020, which showed the pension contributions taken from her pay and corresponding employer contributions. These came to £302.46.
On October 12 2021, the ombudsman asked Paint Hale for a formal response to Miss E’s complaint. It repeated this request on November 24 2021, and did not receive a response to either.
It then wrote to Paint Hale on August 2 2022 asking for more information concerning the complaint, repeating this request on August 16. Paint Hale did not respond.
In the ombudsman caseworker’s opinion — which was based solely on the information provided by Miss E, given Paint Hale’s failure to respond to the ombudsman — Miss E had “suffered significant distress and inconvenience due to the employer’s maladministration”.
The caseworker took the view that Miss E should be awarded £500 for “non-financial injustice”. Paint Hale did not reply to the caseworker’s opinion.
Pensions Ombudsman Anthony Arter opted to increase the award due to Miss E for maladministration.
“The employer’s failure to pay employee and employer contributions… amounts to unjust enrichment and has caused Miss E to suffer financial loss,” he wrote in his determination dated November 2.
“Miss E is entitled to a distress and inconvenience award in respect of the serious ongoing non-financial injustice which she has suffered.
“This was exacerbated by its failure to respond during my office’s investigation into Miss E’s complaint.”
Paint Hale must pay the missing contributions within 14 days of Miss E’s agreement of a contributions schedule between the two parties. Within a fortnight of receiving confirmation from mastertrust Nest over any shortfall in Miss E’s units, it must also pay the cost of making up this shortfall.
Within 28 days of the determination, Paint Hale must make a £1,000 payment to Miss E “for the serious distress and inconvenience she has experienced”.
