Small and medium enterprises have been urged to leave plenty of time to prepare for implementing auto-enrolment after a survey revealed many businesses do not plan to start preparing until less than six months before their staging date.

The study, conducted by IRIS Software last month, found that although 18 per cent of the 160 SMEs surveyed had started preparing for auto-enrolment, 35 per cent did not plan to start getting ready until the final six months before staging.

Thirty per cent of employers planned to begin preparations between six and 12 months before staging, and 16 per cent planned to start preparing more than a year out.

Chief executive of IRIS’ SME division Mark Paraskeva said firms should leave themselves at least 18 months before their staging date to get ready for the new system.

Some pension providers were starting to turn away business from firms with less than six months to their staging date.

“It is really worrying that a large proportion of businesses are planning on leaving their automatic-enrolment preparation until the last minute. We believe that many smaller businesses feel that automatic-enrolment does not apply to them, or will not apply to them for a few years.”

Paraskeva said there are a number of steps employers need to take to prepare for auto-enrolment, but the first was educating their staff.

In particular, companies should get up to speed on the legislation, to understand its aims and the impact it will have on operations.

Share Story: