The Pension Regulator recently revealed that out of the 8,800 companies that have reached their staging date, only 134 have breached compliance.
However, Steve Herbert, head of benefits strategy at Jelf, urged caution when assessing these figures.
“At first glance it appears that only relatively low numbers of employers are failing to comply with the new legislation," he said. "But scratch the surface of this story and you will see a potentially more concerning image.
"The employers that have already staged are the largest by employee numbers in the UK. As such, the vast majority will have dedicated HR departments, payroll teams and the assistance of employee benefit consultancies to help them achieve compliance. Despite this, it is evident that a significant number still failed to understand and meet their duties appropriately."
The readiness of SMEs to deal with the demands of auto-enrolment is currently a hot topic. National pensions consultancy group LEBC’s divisional director Glynn Jones said smaller companies face three main challenges: time pressures, assigning the teams who are responsible for implementing the system and communicating the exact terms to employees.
“Auto-enrolment is a complex issue and organisations need to plan much more ahead and in many instances seek specific guidance," Jones said. "The three problems we’ve highlighted are proving to be very real concerns for employers and the sooner they are recognised and addressed, particularly by those employers still to stage, the more successful auto-enrolment will become."
