Sharp rise in auto enrolment fines

 Sharp rise in fines for auto-enrolment failures

More than 3,700 small businesses were issued with penalties between July and September for failing to enrol staff in a workplace pension. The figure compares with 861 in the previous three months, prompting concerns that firms are struggling to cope with auto-enrolment. Overall, more than 26,000 employers have been issued with compliance notices since auto-enrolment began in 2012. Frequent reasons given for non-compliance include confusion between a business and its payroll administrator, illness and being short-staffed. None of these explanations would result in a fine being waived, the regulator said.

The Times (28/10/2016)