Back to pensions auto-enrolment again folks (sorry!).

I have had the same query from a few clients in the last two weeks, so I thought it was worth putting out a quick post on this point whilst its fresh in my mind.

Many of you will be aware that each employer’s staging-date for auto enrolment is dictated by the number of employees on PAYE at April this year. For those not aware of their staging dates yet, please have a look at this post with the most recent timetable:

https://www.jelfgroup.com/blog/2012/01/new-auto-enrolment-timetable-announced/

But what if your employees are under more than one PAYE scheme?

This is one of those points that seems to have reached some sort of conclusion.

It now seems pretty certain that the staging date for all your PAYE schemes will be dictated by the largest PAYE scheme that you run. Or to put it another way, the earliest staging date applies to all your PAYE schemes, however small.

The only exception seems to be around more complex structures, and where the ultimate contract of employment for employees may sit. If in doubt, please speak to your Jelf consultant in the first instance.

I have pasted the wording from The Pensions Regulator’s recently updated documents on this point for your information:

Complex PAYE structures and corporate groups

1. Most employers will have one PAYE scheme that they use in relation to their workers. This PAYE scheme will be easily identifiable to the employer through their payroll systems.
2. However, larger employers may operate more than one PAYE scheme. If they do, the PAYE scheme with the greatest number of persons in it will set the employer’s staging date. This means that the duties will come into effect on the same date for all the workers they employ.
3. Some employers are part of complex corporate or group structures. To understand how staging will affect these structures, an employer will need to find out where in the group the workers’ contracts of employment are held. This will identify who, for the purposes of the new duties, the employers are within the corporate structure.
4. Workers may have a contract of employment with the individual business they work for, or contracts may all be held through one employer, regardless of which of the businesses the individual actually works for. This could mean that, for the purposes of the new duties, there are multiple employers within the group, or just one.

Hope this helps.

Best regards

Steve