The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) enforcement actions have more than doubled in the past year from 50,068 to 102,497, according to new research.

Research from Clyde & Co reveals that during the same period, TPR handed out £11.4m in fixed penalty notices, in comparison to £4.9m during the previous year, indicating that companies are still coming to terms with the recent auto-enrolment policy.

Clyde & Co, head of pensions, Mark Howard said: "Six years on since the introduction of automatic enrolment, the regulator is bearing its teeth and employers are now feeling the full force of its enforcement powers."

Employers face fines of up to £10,000 per day if they fail to auto-enrol their employees into pension schemes and whistleblowing activity has increasing by 35 per cent to 4,856 instances over the past year, leading to increased action from TPR.

Howard continues: "The primary driver of the uptick in whistleblowing reports is almost certainly automatic enrolment compliance failures. Over the last year the regulator has been on a significant publicity drive to ensure employees are aware of their rights and employers are aware of their obligations. In some respects, it appears to be paying off."

The statistics seem to support Howard’s claims, with enforcement activity in the past year accounting for 63 per cent of all activity since 1 April 2013.

For example, in May 2018, Crest Healthcare was prosecuted and fined more than £20,000 after being found guilty of not complying with auto-enrolment duties and providing false information to TPR about a workplace pension scheme.

However, it seems that many companies are just ignoring TPR and are hoping the problem will disappear, as escalating penalty notices have nearly trebled in the past year.

Commenting, a TPR spokesperson said: “Automatic enrolment is not an option, it’s the law. Those who break the law by denying their staff the pensions they are entitled to should expect to be punished.”

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