Duties for new employers
Your client has automatic enrolment duties from the day their first member of staff started working for them (their duties start date).
Even if your client thinks they won’t need to put their staff into a pension scheme, they still have duties that they need to complete.
On this page
Getting started
When someone is about to employ a worker for the first time, they need to take certain steps in preparation for taking on staff, such as determining whether they need to register as an employer with HMRC, or taking out liability insurance. Getting ready for automatic enrolment is just one of these steps.
Your client should be ready to comply with their legal duties as soon as their new member of staff begins employment (known as their duties start date), whether they have a PAYE scheme or not.
If you’re unsure what duties apply to your client use our ‘Automatic enrolment guide for business advisers’ or use our employer duties tool to find out how automatic enrolment duties applies to them and what they need to do and by when. Even if you think they won't need to put their staff into a scheme, they'll still have duties.
Make sure your client knows what they need to do to be ready when their duties start.
Automatic enrolment checklist – what your clients need to do
You can perform the steps below on behalf of your client or offer them help and advice – but they remain responsible for the duties being completed. They could be fined if their duties aren't complied with correctly, or on time.
Duties your client must carry out if they have staff who must be put into a pension scheme:
1. Choose a pension scheme
It must be suitable for automatic enrolment – you can help your client to find it. If their staff are eligible for automatic enrolment, both your client and the staff will pay into the pension.
They should do this as soon as possible, as it may take some time.
2. Check who to enrol in a workplace pension
Your client must assess their staff against the eligibility criteria on their duties start date and work out if any of them need to be put into a pension scheme and pay contributions into it.
Staff must be enrolled even if they’ve expressed a wish to opt-out, if they still wish to opt out, they can opt-out after they’ve been put into a pension. Read more about opting out.
Do this on their duties start date.
3. Write to staff
Your clients must write to each member of staff explaining how automatic enrolment applies to them, including anyone not being put into a pension.
Do this no later than six weeks after their duties start date.
4. Declare compliance
Your client needs to go to our declaration of compliance online form and declare how they’ve met their legal duties. All employers must do this – not having staff to enrol is not an acceptable reason for failing to submit a declaration.
Once their declaration of compliance is completed, they still have ongoing duties towards their staff.
The declaration must be completed no later than five months after their duties start date.
Duties your client must carry out who don't have to provide a pension scheme now
If your client doesn’t have staff who must be put into a pension scheme now, they will still have other duties which include completing their declaration of compliance. They’ll also need to monitor their staff's circumstances in case they need to put any staff into a scheme in the future.
1. Check they don't have staff to put into a pension scheme
Your client must work out how much each member of staff earns and how old they were on their duties start date, to check that they don't need to be put into a scheme.
Do this on their duties start date
2. Write to their staff
Your client must write to each member of staff individually to tell them how automatic enrolment applies to them, even if they don't have staff to put in a pension scheme.
Do this within 6 weeks of their duties start date
3. Complete a Declaration of compliance
Your client has a legal duty to complete a declaration of compliance to tell us how they’ve met their duties, even if they didn’t need to put any staff into a pension. Once their declaration of compliance is completed, they still have ongoing duties towards their staff.
Do this within 5 months of their duties start date
Re-enrolment
Re-enrol staff that have left the pension scheme every three years
Every three years, your client must put any eligible staff that left or opted-out of their pension scheme back into it, on the anniversary of their duties start date. They must then complete a re-declaration of compliance to tell us how they’ve complied with their duties.
Do this within 5 months of the third anniversary of their duties start date.
Other things to consider
Staff eligibility for automatic enrolment
Not all staff will need to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension, but your client must still assess them and determine their eligibility.
If your client's staff meet the eligibility criteria, they must be put into a pension:
- aged from 22 up to state pension age
- earnings before tax are at least £10,000 per year (or £833 per month, or £192 per week)
If staff don't meet the eligibility criteria, they don't need to be automatically enrolled in a pension unless they ask to be put into one – but your clients only have to pay into it if the staff earn more than £120 per week/£520 per month/£6,240 per year.
Not sure if your client is an employer?
If your client deducts income tax and National Insurance (NI) contributions from the earnings of their staff, then they're usually their employer.
If they used an agency to hire the staff, and the agency pays their NI contributions, then the agency is the employer and your clients don't need to do anything. You or your client should make sure to tell us that they're not an employer.
New employers without PAYE schemes
If your client doesn't have a PAYE scheme we'll write to let them know when they must complete their declaration of compliance by.
This could apply to your client if they're a new employer that hasn't set up a PAYE scheme yet, or if their staff have had a pay rise which puts them above the level of qualifying earnings for the first time.
We'll only write to your client once they've set up a PAYE scheme.
If your client is a new employer without a PAYE scheme and wants to complete their declaration of compliance before we write to them, they can contact us to arrange it.