February 2012: Updated detailed guidance published as a result of recent legislative changes including the Pensions Act 2011 receiving Royal Assent. We have also updated some content as a result of feedback from employers and general review.
Some guidance has been restructured as a result of this update. The guidance on assessing a worker now spans four documents, including the application of the postponement provision. An appendix in each document lists significant changes from v2.0 (published July 2011).
The Department for Work and Pensions has announced that it will be consulting on proposed changes to some staging dates. We will be updating this guidance when:
- the revised staging profile and phasing timescales are published
- on publication of the revised figures for the lower and higher level of qualifying earnings and the earnings trigger for automatic enrolment.
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- Guidance: 1: Employer duties and defining the workforce (PDF, 474kb, 21 pages)
An introduction to the new employer duties
- Guidance: 2: Getting ready (PDF, 678kb, 25 pages)
First steps to prepare for the new employer duties
- Guidance: 3: Assessing the workforce (PDF, 569kb, 24 pages)
How to identify the different categories of workers
- Guidance: 3a. Postponement (PDF, 834kb, 25 pages)
An explanation of how to apply postponement
- Guidance: 3b. Transitional period for DB and hybrid schemes (PDF, 801kb)
Delaying automatic enrolment for eligible jobholders who meet certain conditions
- Guidance: 3c. Having completed the assessment (PDF, 1092kb)
The next steps for an employer after the assessment
- Guidance: 4: Pension schemes (PDF, 725kb, 34 pages)
Pension schemes under the new employer duties
- Guidance: 5: Automatic enrolment (PDF, 658kb, 22 pages)
An explanation of the automatic enrolment process
- Guidance: 6: Opting in, joining and contractual enrolment (PDF, 566kb, 24 pages)
How to process pension scheme membership outside of the automatic enrolment process
- Guidance: 7: Opting out (PDF, 493kb, 18 pages)
How to process 'opt-outs' from workers who want to leave a scheme
- Guidance: 8: Safeguarding individuals (PDF, 283kb, 15 pages)
The new safeguards for workers
- Guidance: 9: Keeping records (PDF, 310kb, 11 pages)
Records that must be kept by law under the new employer duties
Detailed guidance resources
We've produced some supporting materials - diagrams, tables and flowcharts - to help understanding of the new employer duties.
- The different types of worker (PDF, 203kb, 3 pages) Diagram of the different categories of worker and the criteria for each category
- Information to workers (PDF, 150kb, 7 pages) Summary of information requirements in a quick-reference table format