Over eight in 10 businesses that sought a review of their auto-enrolment notices had their fines revoked or altered in the third quarter, according to research by Paycircle.

Following the Q3 auto-enrolment compliance report by The Pensions Regulator, it has been found that a huge number of employers could have been incorrectly issued hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of auto-enrolment fines.

Eighty two per cent of employers who had sought a review into their AE notices said they had had them either amended or withdrawn completely.

Less than on in five, 18 per cent of these notices, including Fixed Penalty Notices, Compliance Notices and Escalating Penalty Notices were confirmed or enforced following TPR’s review.

While the regulator has issued close to 7,000 FPN’s since the start of its auto-enrolment initiative, it is possible that hundreds of thousands of pounds could have been incorrectly paid by businesses since July 2012.

The increase in fixed and escalating penalties issued between July and September this year could mean that the number and value of fines paid unnecessarily by smaller businesses could rise significantly in the coming months.

Paycircle co-founder Catherine Pinkney said: “The workplace pensions roll-out is a gargantuan administrative task and, as such, there were always going to be cases where penalties for non-compliance were issued incorrectly. But the percentage of fines being revoked is a real cause for concern. With over 80 per cent of businesses successfully having their statutory notices either altered or revoked, some might argue the regulator has been too heavy-handed in its auto-enrolment enforcement.

“With the number of fines issued in the third quarter of the year rising exponentially, smaller business owners should be aware that in many cases these fines are being overturned, saving them hundreds of pounds. As this data proves, if you feel the penalty you have received is unfair, the chances are you can get the decision either changed or reversed entirely.”

However, a TPR spokesperson disputed the research: “It is not correct to suggest that a large percentage of businesses have had statutory notices from TPR altered or revoked. In fact, just fewer than 10 per cent of the employers who have been issued a statutory notice have asked for it to be reviewed. The majority of employers who receive a notice go on to comply with their duties.

“Far from being heavy handed with our enforcement, by September this year our educate and enable approach had helped more than a quarter of a million employers meet their automatic enrolment duties and put more than 6 million workers into a pension.

“We urge people not to ignore letters from us and to get in touch if they feel they are not subject to automatic enrolment before they receive a statutory notice or fine. “

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