Enquiries by the regulator’s compliance and enforcement team have led to a series of informal actions, including 28 instances where instructions have been issued by telephone, email, letter or in person and the issuance of 101 warning letters.
Formal action has resulted in the issuance of four compliance notices and one unpaid contribution notice. By March 2013 one compliance notice had been issued and 34 warning letters.
The Pensions Regulator has investigated 590 employers by the end of January 2014, up from 89 by the end of March 2013.
It says 99.9 per cent of the 8,800 employers who have staged so far have done so successfully.
It says the numbers of employers who are likely to become subject to the new automatic enrolment duties, which is forecasted on a quarterly basis, is expected to be 979,900 PAYE schemes between 1 April 2014 and 30 June 2017.
The Pensions Regulator executive director automatic enrolment Charles Counsell says: “More than 8,800 employers had automatically enrolled almost 3 million workers by the end of January 2014. We are focused on high quality communications and on creating a pro-compliance culture where employers and workers understand the ‘we’re all in’ message and employers have the information they need to become compliant. We are also working with employers to rectify anything that has gone wrong.
“As a result, 99.9 per cent of employers who have completed registration with The Pensions Regulator have done so without the need for us to use our powers. Employers have understood that providing workplace pension provision and helping their workers plan for retirement is the now the norm.
“I am pleased that we have only needed to use our statutory powers six times, but we are not complacent and realise that the greatest challenge remains ahead with small and micro employers.”
