RDG Accounting - Auto enrolment duties as a new employer

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From the 1st October 2017, if you become a new employer on or after this date, you immediately have duties for auto enrolment purposes to carry out for any new member of staff. Known as your ‘duties start date’, you are legally required to carry out these duties from the first day the new employee starts working for your company.

Do I not get a staging date?

For all new employers setting up a PAYE scheme, the staging date for Auto Enrolment is 1^st October 2017. According to research by ‘The Pensions Regulator’ (TPR), it is worrying that almost half of accountants (49%) who were asked, did not know that new employers would have these duties.

Is your accountant aware of your auto enrolment duties?

If you are a client of RDG and planning on hiring staff for the first time in October, don’t worry, we can assist you with your duties to ensure you are compliant. If you use another accountant, we would recommend having a conversation with them regarding the new rules & regulations.

What tasks do I need to complete?

There are a few steps that you will need to complete and they are as follows:

Step 1 – Register yourself as an employer with HMRC
Step 2 – Inform TPR who will be the point of contact for auto enrolment
Step 3 – You should make sure you are ready to comply with your legal auto enrolment duties; your accountant or payroll provider should be able to assist
Step 4 – Your accountant should make sure that their PAYE software caters for auto enrolment.

New employer spot checks

Random spot checks on auto enrolment for new employers have begun across the UK. Inspectors from TPR plan to visit hundreds of companies over the coming months, to make sure that employees have been granted access to a workplace pension scheme. If you are caught out, you run the risk of receiving a fine.

Unsure whether you have a PAYE scheme?

If you are a client of RDG, and are unsure if you have a scheme in place, please do not hesitate to contact us and we would be happy to confirm this with you and answer any of your questions. If you’re not a client of RDG, we would recommend having the same conversation with your accountant or payroll provider.