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Recruiters should review PAYE list ahead of April 1 pensions snapshot

On April 1, the Government will take a 'snapshot' of all UK business' PAYE lists to assess staging dates for the new pension duties coming into force from this autumn.

Beginning in October, employers will become responsible for automatically enrolling their workers into an approved workplace pensions scheme. The onus is then on the individual worker to opt out if they do not wish to save for a pension.

Businesses will be staged in over the next several years based on the size of the employer's PAYE scheme, with the largest employers starting first. Under this legislation, employment businesses must auto-enrol both their directly employed staff and the temps on their books.

As staging dates will be based on PAYE scheme size on April  1 2012, employers should review their payroll information to ensure that it up to date and provides an accurate reflection of the workforce. This will help ensure the company is assigned the correct staging date, based on the actual number of workers on their books.

The Pensions Regulator's staging dates timeline is available at http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/pensions-reform/staging-date-timeline.aspx

The REC will shortly be launching a comprehensive programme of support to help members meet their responsibilities under the new pensions rules, including a series of regional seminars.