Existing businesses that previously had no employees are also affected
From October, new employers, which will include all new limited companies, will have instant pension duties and obligations. These businesses will need to put pension plans in place.
The extension also includes companies that take on an employee where previously the directors have not been classified as workers and the company has been exempt from duties under automatic enrolment. There is a risk that these businesses may inadvertently miss this obligation.
The Pensions Regulator has said: ‘If you are employing staff for the first time after 1 October 2017, your legal duties for automatic enrolment begin on the day your first member of staff starts work. You should start preparing early for this to work out what you’ll need to do.
‘If you’ve employed someone since 2 April 2017 or you’re going to employ someone before 30 September 2017, find out when your duties will start.’
It is important to remember that even those businesses with no employees in a pension scheme will still have a legal requirement to complete a declaration of compliance online within five months of their duties’ start date.
You can find the guidance at thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/employing-staff-for-the-first-time.aspx#howwilliknow and thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/business-advisers.
The Regulator is hosting a free webinar for business advisers at 2.30 pm on 6 July. The webinar will focus on the legislation changes that come into effect during 2017/18, and include the duties that new employers have from 1 October 2017. You’ll also have a chance to get your automatic enrolment questions answered live on the day. Register for the webinar now.
Article from ACCA In Practice