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How we enforce

If employers fail to comply, we have various powers available to us, such as issuing a compliance or penalty notice. As an employer you can ask for a review of these notices.

If you knowingly supply false information in a declaration of compliance you will be committing a criminal offence.

Warning letter

If you haven’t met your legal duties, you may first get a warning letter with a deadline for you to meet your duties. Call the phone number on your letter or email CandE@autoenrol.tpr.gov.uk and we’ll tell you what you need to do to meet your legal duties. If you don’t meet your duties within the deadline you may be sent a statutory notice.

Statutory notices

A statutory notice will tell you to comply with your duties and/or pay any contributions you've missed or are late in paying. We may tell you that you must pay both your own and your staff member’s unpaid contributions. We may also estimate and charge interest on unpaid contributions and tell you to calculate and/or pay unpaid contributions. It is important that you take action to meet your duties within the time frame, or you may be issued a penalty notice.

Penalty notices

We can issue penalty notices if you fail to comply with a statutory notice, or to address particular kinds of breach.

  • Fixed penalty notice

If you don’t comply with statutory notices, or if there’s evidence of breaches of the law, you may be sent a fixed penalty notice. The fine is fixed at £400 and must be paid within the period set out in the penalty notice.

  • Escalating penalty notice

If you still don’t comply with a statutory notice you may be sent an escalating penalty notice. This gives you a new deadline to comply, after which you will be fined at a daily rate of £50 to £10,000, depending on the number of staff you have. The fine will continue to grow at the daily rate until you comply with the statutory notice, or until we stop it.

  • Prohibited recruitment conduct penalty notice

If you don’t comply with a prohibited recruitment conduct compliance notice or there is evidence of a breach, you may be sent a penalty notice. This fine has a prescribed rate of £1,000 to £5,000, depending on the number of staff you have.

Prosecution

Wilfully failing to put eligible staff into a pension scheme and knowingly providing false information in a declaration of compliance are criminal offences. If we prosecute you, the maximum punishment is two years in prison or a fine.
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