Twenty per cent of small employers and almost half of micro employers do not know the exact date on which they need to comply with automatic enrolment laws, according to new research by the Pensions Regulator.

The watchdog has released results of an employer survey on auto-enrolment which shows some employers are still unaware of their exact responsibilities when it comes to providing a pensions scheme.

The survey also found that nine in ten employers staging between October 2014 and April 2015 had commenced preparation to meet their new duties and that eight in ten employers staging between October 2015 and April 2015 had consulted an adviser.

The regulator has called on accountants, IFAs and bookkeepers to get ready for a flood of demand from smaller companies and prepared themselves with the information they need to provide adequate advice.

Executive director of automatic enrolment, Charles Counsell, said: "Too many small and micro employers still don’t know when their staging date is. While we write to employers 12 months ahead of that date, it is important for them to check if they need to be ready by next summer – or later. The easiest way to do this is by using the staging date tool on the regulator’s website."

"It is now vital that advisers use the information on our website so that they have the knowledge their clients are going to need to meet their pension duties," he added.

In a separate survey of advisers, the regulator found that accountants and bookkeepers were least likely to have used the regulator's website with 39 per cent and 48 per cent respectively being aware it was a source of information.

Accountants, who are expected to be the first port of call for many micro employers, were significantly less likely to say they are acting on behalf of their clients in relation to auto-enrolment. Forty-eight per cent said they were offering or planning to offer a service.

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