Auto-enrolment deadline approaches for SMEs with less than 30 employees

The auto-enrolment staging date for small businesses with 30 employees or less is approaching, with the Government confirming these firms can enrol their staff in a workplace pension scheme from 1st January 2016.

This fresh reminder coincides with this week’s auto-enrolment deadline for companies with 30 to 49 employees.

Recent research by Moorepay has indicated that thousands of small businesses with 30 to 49 staff members will miss this week’s staging date, claiming that more than a quarter of businesses with less than 50 employees are still unaware or unclear about their official pension provision responsibilities.

Alison Dodd, CEO, Moorepay, said: “There really is no defence for the UK’s small and medium businesses against missing today’s auto-enrolment staging date.

“These businesses now need to act fast if they want to stay compliant and avoid hefty fines that can be a substantial burden on their business.”

As many as 1.8 million small and micro businesses are still required to stage their workplace pension schemes for staff between now and 2018, according to the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST).

New figures also released on the anniversary of auto-enrolment show an average of 58 UK employers a day signed up for workplace pension schemes in the last three years. This is expected to accelerate to 2,000 a day between now and the official cut-off in 2018.

NEST said those who have yet to enrol would be unlikely to have experience of offering a pension scheme and would be seeking advice from intermediaries such as accountants and advisers.

Helen Dean, CEO, NEST, said: “It’s been three years since auto-enrolment launched in the UK and today marks the halfway point but this is also where volumes really ramp up.”

If you’re a small business owner with less than 50 employees and you’re looking for someone to help you make pensions simple, your local TaxAssist Accountant can help.

Our TaxAssist Accountants Client Pension Service, created with Scottish Widows, provides a range of features and benefits for SMEs that are normally only available for larger organisations.

If you’d like to discuss your auto-enrolment options, arrange a free initial consultation with your nearest TaxAssist Accountant by calling our friendly team on 0800 0523 555 or completing our online enquiry form.

Date published 2 Oct 2015 | Last updated 20 Sep 2022