When a school changes status to become an academy or a foundation school, the employer for automatic enrolment purposes also changes. A new employer - the academy proprietor or the governing body - is created.
In this case, as a new employer has been created, the automatic enrolment duties for that employer start again, even though staff may have transferred from the old employer (such as the local authority), to the new employer.
If your school is becoming an academy or a foundation school, you need to be aware if its automatic enrolment duties will change as a result.
If the employer does change, the duties will start again from the beginning of the automatic enrolment process, giving you new dates for what you must do and by when.
As a result of this, you may not need to complete re-enrolment or your re-declaration of compliance yet.
How do I work out if the employer has changed?
What does this mean for automatic enrolment duties?
If a new employer was created by a school converting between 1 April 2012 and 30 September 2017, the new employer will have a staging date. This staging date is between 1 May 2017 and 1 February 2018, depending on when staff were first paid, after the school’s conversion.
The new employer’s legal duties for automatic enrolment begin on its staging date, not on the date that all staff were transferred to the new employer.
Staff will usually transfer under the transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment regulations (TUPE).
Under a TUPE transfer there is some protection of pension rights for staff. These are separate legal requirements to automatic enrolment and must be complied with whether or not the new employer has reached its staging date for automatic enrolment at the time the school’s conversion is completed.
The new employer will have re-enrolment duties approximately three years after its staging date.
If a school conversion creates a new employer on or after 1 October 2017, the legal duties for automatic enrolment begin on the day the first member of staff starts work.
If you are thinking of converting to a new academy or foundation school you should start preparing early for automatic enrolment. Find out what you must do for automatic enrolment.
Staff will usually transfer under the transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment regulations (TUPE). You must also meet any TUPE requirements arising from the transfer of staff.
The new employer will have re-enrolment duties approximately three years after its duties start date.
Does a school have to complete a new declaration of compliance after it has converted?
What if I continue to use the school’s old PAYE scheme?
What should I do if I’m still getting letters about the old employer’s re-enrolment duties?
What happens if an academy merges or joins with another academy?