09/06/2017

A high street shoe shop that turned a £400 fixed penalty notice into a £40,000 fine plus £2,000 costs after claiming it was ‘too busy to meet its pension responsibilities’ has provided The Pensions Regulator (TPR) with a graphic illustration of the potential cost to employers who ignore automatic enrolment responsibilities.

‘Regulatory intervention report issued under section 89 of the Pensions Act 2004 in relation to Johnsons Shoes Company (‘Johnsons’)’ recounts the sorry story that begins with the Shepperton-based firm being fined £400 for failing to check whether its staff qualified to be put into a workplace pension, then confirming its findings to TPR.

While it paid the fine, it still did not become compliant, despite being reminded that it would face a new fine, increasing by £2,500 per day, if it did not meet its responsibilities.

By the time it had become compliant, the fine had increased 100-fold to £40,000 – which it refused to pay, until TPR took it to court.

That did the trick and it finally agreed to pay £40,000 plus £2,000 costs to prevent the need for a full court case.

‘Duties Checker’ is a TPR interactive online tool that could have saved the shop a lot of hassle and a lot of money.