Auto-enrolment never really stops. Every pay run you have to assess your team, enrol anyone who becomes eligible, deduct the right contributions and keep records, then re-enrol staff every three years. We build all of it into your payroll so it simply happens, correctly and on time. Here is what the duties involve and exactly how we take them off you.
What auto-enrolment is
Auto-enrolment is the law that requires every employer to put certain staff into a workplace pension and contribute to it. It was rolled out to get more people saving for retirement, and it applies to businesses of every size, from a single employee upwards. The duties are enforced by The Pensions Regulator, which can and does issue fixed and escalating penalties to employers who do not comply. Crucially, auto-enrolment is not a one-off task you tick off once. It is an ongoing duty you have to meet every single pay run, which is exactly why it belongs inside your payroll.
Your ongoing auto-enrolment duties
Every pay period, as an employer you must:
- Assess every worker against age and earnings criteria to see who must be enrolled.
- Enrol eligible jobholders into a qualifying pension scheme.
- Calculate and deduct contributions from pay and add your employer contribution.
- Pay contributions across to the pension provider on time.
- Write to your staff with the statutory information about their rights.
- Handle opt-outs and opt-ins, including refunds within the opt-out window.
- Keep records and, every three years, re-enrol and re-declare compliance.
Minimum contribution rates
The legal minimum total contribution is 8% of an employee's qualifying earnings, split between employer and employee:
| Contribution | Minimum rate |
|---|---|
| Employer minimum | 3% of qualifying earnings |
| Employee (incl. tax relief) | 5% of qualifying earnings |
| Total minimum | 8% of qualifying earnings |
You can choose to contribute more than the minimum, and some schemes calculate contributions on a different earnings basis. We apply whatever rules your scheme uses and get the deductions right every time.
Earnings thresholds
Whether someone must be enrolled, and how much is contributed, depends on how much they earn. Auto-enrolment uses an earnings trigger and a band of qualifying earnings, which are set by government each tax year. We assess every employee against the current thresholds automatically, so part-time and variable-hours staff are treated correctly as their pay changes, without you having to watch the figures.
Thresholds and rates are reviewed by government every tax year. Keeping up with the changes is our job, not yours, so your assessments always use the current figures.
Re-enrolment every three years
Roughly every three years you must re-enrol eligible staff who previously opted out or left the scheme, and submit a fresh declaration of compliance to The Pensions Regulator. It is easy to forget, and the Regulator treats a missed re-declaration the same as any other breach. We track your re-enrolment date, carry out the exercise, and file your declaration so it is never left to chance.
Working with your pension provider
We work with all the main workplace pension providers, including NEST, The People's Pension and Smart Pension, among others. If you already have a scheme in place, we integrate with it and upload your contributions each run. If you are just starting out, we can guide you on getting set up. Either way, the administration sits with us.
How we take it off you
Because we run auto-enrolment inside your payroll, it simply happens. Every pay run we assess your team, enrol anyone who has become eligible, calculate and deduct the right contributions, upload them to your provider, and issue the required communications. We manage opt-outs and refunds, handle your three-yearly re-enrolment, and file your declaration of compliance. You stay on the right side of The Pensions Regulator without spending a minute on it.