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Making workplace pensions work

Assessing groups of workers – Transcript

Automatic enrolment detailed guidance for employers no. 3 Appendix C

This is a transcript of the flowchart intended as supporting material for  Detailed guidance no. 3 – Assessing the workforce. 

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  1. Identify your workers
    • Now go to 2  

  2. Exclude any workers under 16 and over 74
    • Now go to 3  

  3. Exclude any workers who do not work, or ordinarily work, in the UK  under their contract
    • Now go to 4  

  4. Assess earnings 
    1. Identify pay reference period
    2. Assess qualifying earnings payable in that pay reference period
    3. Compare against the earnings trigger for automatic enrolment (£10,000) appropriate to the pay reference period  
      • £10,000 (pro rata) (note 1) or below – Go to 6 
      • More than £10,000 (note 1) – Go to 5  

  5. Potential Eligible jobholders 
    • Apply age criteria. Identify workers aged over 22 but under state pension age.  
    • 16–21 or state pension age to 74 - Go to 6 
    • At least 22 but under state pension age - Eligible jobholders 

  6. Does not need to be automatically enrolled but as a jobholder they can choose to opt in to an automatic enrolment scheme or as an entitled worker they can choose to join a pension scheme. An employer will need to separately identify a jobholder or an entitled worker within this age bracket when:
    1. they are given an opt in of joining notice 
    2. immediate re-enrolment is triggered 
    3. if the worker is an active member of a scheme that is not qualifying, or 
    4. if they choose to give separate information about either opt in or joining (note 1)  
      • Now go to 7  

  7. To distinguish between jobholder and entitled worker on these occasions:
    1. Identify pay reference period 
    2. Assess qualifying earnings payable in that pay reference period 
    3. Compare against the lower level of qualifying earnings (£6,240) appropriate to the pay reference period  
      • £6,240 (pro rata) or below – Entitled worker (note 2)
      • More than £6,240 (pro rata) – Non-eligible jobholder (note 2)

Notes

  • [1] Prior to 1 April 2015 an employer would have needed to distinguish between a noneligible jobholder and entitled worker in this group as there were separate information requirements for each. Since 1 April 2015 there is no longer this requirement but an employer who staged before 1 April 2015 can continue to make this distinction as they can choose to continue giving information about only the right of a jobholder to opt in or of an entitled worker to join. More information can be found in Detailed guidance no. 10 – Information to workers. 
  • [2] This amount is for the 2023 to 2024 tax year. These figures are reviewed annually by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Where there is a change, the figures for the next tax year after they have been announced by the DWP, as well as the historic and current amounts can be found on our website at earnings thresholds.
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