FOI reference - FOI-146
Date - 14 August 2023
Request
- Does TPR have a record of (for the last 3 complete financial years) how many complaints it has received about employers failing to automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme at the relevant date?
- Statistics on the total number of complaints and / or the number of employers complained about would be helpful (I presume you might receive multiple complaints about the same employer)?
- Can you also say (for each of the last 3 complete financial years):
- How many of the complaints (and / or employers if that is the main way you hold information) TPR formally investigated?
- How many of the formal investigations resulted in the TPR upholding the complaint (i.e., the employer was found to have failed to automatically enrol the complainant when they should have)?
- How many of the upheld complaints resulted in the employer being issued a compliance notice requiring payment of contributions in respect of the complainant?
- How many of the compliance notices requiring payment of contributions resulted in a payment on behalf of complainants?
Response
I confirm that we hold some of the information you have requested. We have answered each question below in turn.
Information we hold:
- Does TPR have a record of (for the last 3 complete financial years) how many complaints it has received about employers failing to automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme at the relevant date? Yes.
Please note the following information:- These types of reports are sometimes referred to as whistleblowing reports.
- TPR may receive whistleblowing reports that cover different types of complaints. For clarification on this, please see our published article on Whistleblowing disclosures: https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/document-library/corporate- information/whistleblowing-disclosures.
- We have made the assumption that your request relates to reports of concerns from individuals regarding failures by an employer to automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme. Please note that these types of reports are distinct from other whistleblowing reports.
- Statistics on the total number of complaints and / or the number of employers complained about would be helpful (I presume you might receive multiple complaints about the same employer)?
Year Number of complaints 2020/21 2,358 2021/22 2,550 2022/23 2,609 Number of employers complained about:
Employer names were not provided in 1,350 cases. The remaining 6,167 complaints related to 4,806 distinct employers. We have not broken this down into annual figures on the basis that one employer may have been reported in more than one financial year.
- Can you also say (for each of the last 3 complete financial years):
- How many of the complaints (and / or employers if that is the main way you hold information) TPR formally investigated?
Year Number of complaints formally investigated 2020/21 237 2021/22 118 2022/23 137
These are the total numbers of manual cases that have been closed in which TPR investigated reports of concerns from individuals regarding failures by an employer to automatically enrol eligible workers into a qualifying pension scheme at the relevant date.
Please note the following information:
- These do not include ongoing investigations.
- The above numbers may not include investigations that were referred to us via a different referral route but where a whistleblowing report was subsequently received for the same employer - i.e., when an investigation or case (including under our bulk and automated processes – which vastly exceed manual cases) was already under way when contact was made.
- The above numbers may include investigations where multiple whistleblowing reports have been received for the same employer.
- How many of the formal investigations resulted in the TPR upholding the complaint (i.e., the employer was found to have failed to automatically enrol the complainant when they should have)?
Year Number of upheld complaints 2020/21 218 2021/22 103 2022/23 129
Please note the following information:
- These represent the cases that were found to have failed to comply with some or all of their automatic enrolment duties.
- These represent the cases that were found to have failed to comply with some or all of their automatic enrolment duties.
- How many of the upheld complaints resulted in the employer being issued a compliance notice requiring payment of contributions in respect of the complainant?
Year Number of compliance notices issued 2020/21 96 2021/22 66 2022/23 78
Please note the following information:
- Not all compliance notices will automatically or necessarily require payment of contributions because the nature of breach identified following investigation may require compliance with other aspects of the legislation (for example, the duty to maintain records).
- Compliance notices are unlikely to reflect contribution requirements in respect of individual employees (or ex-employees) of employers because usually the breach identified will cover more than the individual(s) who made a report.
- How many of the complaints (and / or employers if that is the main way you hold information) TPR formally investigated?
Information we do not hold:
- How many of the compliance notices requiring payment of contributions resulted in a payment on behalf of complainants?
- We have started tracking contributions but do not hold the information for the period specified.
- Investigations may be concluded for different reasons, i.e., because the employer became insolvent, or the employer subsequently became compliant – including before regulatory action may have been initiated.
- Compliance notices are not always issued in every case, such as where the case manager deems there is a better way to achieve compliance, i.e., through further direct engagement with the employer or ongoing supervision.
- Some employers respond to our initial contact before a notice is issued and remedy the breach without TPR needing to use formal powers.