Business owners facing court
judgements for ignoring workplace pension notices
LOCAL business owners could face County
Court Judgements if they fail to act on workplace pension schemes, a local Tax
specialist has warned.
Andrew Geddes who runs Tax Assist Accountants in Southport said:- "In the
1st ¼ of this year, over 17,000 fines and other
sanctions have been issued to small businesses who did not meet their staging
date for the new auto enrolment pensions. One small business, which cited work
pressures as a reason for not complying with the new regulations, was given a
₤40,000 fine, plus Court costs. Businesses that have ignored penalty notices are
now receiving County Court Judgements, which could seriously affect their credit
rating and ability to borrow money in the future. The Pensions Regulator has
also said that it intends to publish details of those companies. We're advising
many local business owners who have now received notices from the Pensions
Regulator giving the date from which they must automatically enrol all eligible
employees into a pension scheme and contribute to their pension pot. Some have
planned well in advance and have fully compliant schemes up and running already.
Any employer who fails to comply, could face a ₤400 fixed penalty escalating to
daily fines set at a minimum of ₤50 per day, ₤500 per day, if they have over 5
employees, reaching a maximum of ₤10,000 per day, if they have 500 or more
employees, with the possibility of civil penalties and Court action." In 2017, some 200,000 employers per
¼ will be reaching their staging date
for workplace pension schemes under the Government's automatic enrolment rules.
Nearly 8 million people, across over ½ a million businesses, are now
saving for their retirement.
