Avoiding pensions auto-enrolment is costly for SMEs

The Pensions Regulator is cracking down on companies that don’t meet their pensions auto-enrolment responsibilities.

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Paperwork may seem a chore but it's vital to keep up to date with auto-enrolment

A Derby-based recruitment agency has earned the dubious distinction of becoming the first company with members of staff given custodial sentences for breaking auto-enrolment pension laws. Last month, four senior employees of Workchain were given suspended prison sentences for illegally plotting to opt staff out of the company pension scheme, while the company itself was fined more than £280,000.

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David Prosser
Business Columnist

David Prosser is a regular MoneyWeek columnist, writing on small business and entrepreneurship, as well as pensions and other forms of tax-efficient savings and investments. David has been a financial journalist for almost 30 years, specialising initially in personal finance, and then in broader business coverage. He has worked for national newspaper groups including The Financial Times, The Guardian and Observer, Express Newspapers and, most recently, The Independent, where he served for more than three years as business editor.