Workplace pension automatic enrolment

The duty starts with the first member of staff

Automatic enrolment is an employer duty, not an optional staff benefit. An organisation with at least one worker can have duties from the date its first member of staff begins, even when nobody needs to be automatically enrolled that day.

The employer must understand who is in its workforce, have a suitable pension arrangement when required and complete its declaration of compliance. The Pensions Regulator's employer guide is the current starting point.

Assess people as payroll circumstances change

Eligibility depends on facts including age, earnings and whether the person works or ordinarily works in the UK. Check new starters and reassess staff when those facts change. Use the live criteria from The Pensions Regulator instead of putting thresholds into a permanent HR policy.

Different categories carry different rights. An eligible jobholder will normally need to be automatically enrolled, unless postponement or a statutory exception applies. Other workers may have a right to opt in or join, so “not automatically enrolled” does not always mean “nothing to do”.

Enrol, write and declare

Where the duty applies, put the eligible jobholder into an automatic enrolment scheme, give the required information and make the contributions due. The Pensions Regulator's scheme guidance distinguishes this from a qualifying scheme: existing active membership of a qualifying scheme the employer provides can mean the person does not need to be automatically enrolled.

Process opt-out and joining requests through the prescribed route rather than acting on an informal message before enrolment. Keep evidence that the scheme used for automatic enrolment meets the additional automatic-enrolment criteria.

Keep the duty running after setup

The work continues after the first declaration. Employers must monitor staff, maintain contributions, keep records and carry out re-enrolment and re-declaration. The ongoing-duties guide sets out that cycle.

Salary sacrifice is a separate contractual and payroll arrangement. It can be used with some workplace pensions, but it does not replace the automatic-enrolment assessment or the employer's underlying duties.