The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Solange Bakery Ltd and Artisan Traditions Ltd for failing to pay contributions into a worker’s Nest pension despite deducting them from her pay.

The employer was ordered to arrange for any investment loss to be calculated and paid back into the scheme, as well as ensure that the complainant, Mrs K, is not financially disadvantaged by its maladministration.

In addition to this, the employer has been ordered to pay Mrs K £500 for the “significant distress and inconvenience” it has caused her.

Mrs K raised concerns about unpaid and late pension contributions by her employer.

Although the evidence provided showed that the missing contributions have since been paid, she maintained that the employer failed to properly engage with her and arrange for the reimbursement of investment losses to her scheme account.

During Mrs K’s employment, she was paid and employed by three different companies, VS Empire Ltd, Artisan Traditions Ltd and Solange Bakery Ltd, which have the same sole director, Mr Tavares.

In August 2023, Mrs K told Mr Tavares that she had been contacted by the scheme administrator about unpaid pension contributions.

She was enrolled in October in the scheme by Solange Bakery Ltd, but complained later in the month that despite them deducting pension contributions from her pay, only one contribution had been paid into the scheme since the start of her employment.

On the same day, in October, Mrs K also informed Mr Tavares that she was experiencing continual distress and upset because of the unpaid pension contributions, and a couple of weeks later, informed Mr Tavares that she was raising a formal grievance due to the unpaid pension contributions.

Mrs K brought her complaint to TPO in January 2024.

Payments were made by Solange Bakery Ltd in January and March 2024 into the scheme, representing Mrs K’s employee contributions, and the employer contributions for the period June 2023 to December 2023.

TPO contacted Mr Tavares in June 2024 and was told by accountants acting for Solange Bakery Ltd in July that it would be making a payment into the scheme as soon as possible.

TPO asked the accountant to confirm when Artisan Traditions Ltd and Solange Bakery Ltd would make outstanding pension payments and to comment on any investment loss or distress suffered by Mrs K from the delays.

In August, the accountant confirmed to TPO that Solange Bakery Ltd had been asked to respond to these questions. TPO requested an update, and the accountant then contacted Solange Bakery Ltd several times for a response.

More payments were made into the scheme by Solange Bakery Ltd, representing Mrs K’s employee contributions, and the employer contributions for the period February 2024 to December 2024.

As of September 2024, Artisan Traditions Ltd had not paid Mrs K’s May 2023 pension contributions of £103.13, while Solange Bakery Ltd had caught up on July and August 2024 payments.

Mr Tavares said the scheme administrator was responsible for delays, but no evidence, compensation, or proposals for Mrs K’s distress or investment loss had been provided.

The complaint was passed over to the adjudicator, who concluded that further action was required by the employer as it had failed to remit the contributions due to the scheme.

The employers did not respond to the adjudicator’s opinion, and Mrs L informed TPO that since her pay for August 2024, further pension contributions had been paid late, or not paid at all,  into the scheme.

In December 2025, the scheme administrator told Mrs K that Solange Bakery Ltd had requested that her enrolment be ended with that business and instead wanted her to enrol under Artisan Traditions Ltd.

Following the adjudicator’s opinion, the scheme administrator told TPO that the employee and employer pension contributions for May 2023, totalling £103.13, had in fact been paid to Mrs K’s Artisan Traditions Ltd Scheme account on 11 March 2024.

The complaint was then passed onto the deputy pensions ombudsman, Camilla Barry, to consider, who agreed with the decision.

She said that it was the employer's duty in accordance with the Pensions Act 2008 and the Occupational and Personal Pension Regulations 2013 to ensure that contributions were remitted to the scheme in a “timely manner and no later than the 22nd day of the month following the deduction”.

“It is clear that the employers failed to meet this statutory obligation, and I find that this amounts to maladministration,” she said.

“Mrs K is entitled to a distress and inconvenience award in respect of the significant ongoing non-financial injustice which she has suffered. This was exacerbated by the failure of the employers to resolve the dispute during TPO’s investigation into Mrs K’s complaint.”

---