The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Elevate Ward Design Ltd after finding that the company failed to pay contributions into a worker’s pension despite deducting contributions from her pay.

The employer was ordered to pay £2,024 into the Smart Pension Master Trust as well as ensure that the complainant, Ms H, is not financially disadvantaged by its maladministration by arranging for any investment loss to be calculated and paid into the trust.

The employer was also ordered to pay Ms H £1,000 for the “serious distress and inconvenience” it has caused her.

Ms H brought her complaint to TPO in February 2022, after the employer failed to pay pension contributions into the trust between January 2021 and November 2021 despite deducting them from her salary.

The employer previously said it had every intention of paying the contributions as soon as it was affordable for the business and verbally agreed with Ms H that the outstanding contributions would be paid back at the end of the 2021/2022 financial year.

In July 2024, TPO asked the employer for its formal response to Ms H’s complaint twice, but these requests did not receive a response, so the case was passed over to the adjudicator.

The adjudicator concluded that further action was required by the employer as it had failed to remit the contributions due to the trust.

Due to the employer not responding to the adjudicator’s opinion, the complaint was passed on to deputy pensions ombudsman, Camilla Barry, who agreed with the opinion.

Barry said the employer belatedly enrolled Ms H into the trust in August 2021 but failed to make any contributions and said there is “no dispute” that the contributions were deducted from Ms H's wages between January and July 2021 despite her not being enrolled in the scheme.

“I find that the employer has acted in breach of the trust rules by not paying all the contributions due between January 2021 and November 2021,” she said.

"Whilst the employer did verbally agree to pay the outstanding pension contributions at the end of the 2021/22 financial year, it failed to make any payments into the trust.

“The employer’s failure to pay employee and employer contributions into the trust amounts to unjust enrichment and has caused MS H to suffer a financial loss. The employer shall take remedial action to put this right.”

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