Following the publishing of the Government’s response on the proposed auto-enrolment regulations, Lee Hollingworth, Head of DC, Hymans Robertson, commented:
“There are some welcome amendments included within the final regulations for auto-enrolment published today. Firstly, the DWP has wisely amended the definition of what is deemed to be ‘basic pay’ under the certification requirements to specifically exclude items such as commissions and certain allowances. Without this amendment the certification process would have been wholly irrelevant for the vast majority of employers who do not currently deem a car and other allowances as pensionable.
“The relaxation of the time allowed to issue the postponement notice to one month is also good news, particularly for employers with a centralised HR function serving multi-locations.
“We’re now just 9 months away from launch day for the biggest companies and the clock is ticking. Preparing for auto-enrolment is a complex, five step process that needs at least 18 months of dedicated time to achieve satisfactorily. Large companies are going to have to invest significant resources into preparing for these changes and therefore should be looking to achieve a good return on their investment by getting this process right for themselves and their employees.”
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