2010 No. 123
The Employers’ Duties (Implementation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010
Made
Coming into operation
The Department for Social Development makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 12, 29(2) and (4), 30(8) and 113(2) of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 20081.
Citation, commencement and interpretation1
1
These Regulations may be cited as the Employers’ Duties (Implementation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 and shall come into operation on 1st September 2012.
2
In these Regulations—
“employer” has the meaning given by regulation 2(2);
“the employers’ duties” means sections 2 to 9;
“HMRC” means Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;
“PAYE income” has the meaning given in section 683(1) of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 20032;
“PAYE reference number” means a number issued by HMRC to a corresponding PAYE scheme, enabling an employer to pay over amounts deducted to HMRC;
“PAYE scheme” means the HMRC record allocated to an employer who—
- a
employs, or
- b
intends to employ,
a worker to whom PAYE income is payable;
- a
“scheme administrator” has the same meaning as in section 270 of the Finance Act 20043;
“staging date” means the date when the employers’ duties apply to employers, prescribed in the third column of the Table;
“the Table” means the Table in regulation 4.
3
In these Regulations any reference to a numbered section is a reference to the section of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 bearing that number.
Application of the employers’ duties to employers2
1
Except where an employer satisfies the conditions for early automatic enrolment in regulation 3, the employers’ duties do not apply to employers described in the first column of the Table until the corresponding staging dates prescribed in the third column of the Table.
2
For the purposes of these Regulations, an employer is a person within the meaning of section 70(7) who—
a
has a PAYE scheme of any size, determined by the Regulator in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4), or
b
meets any other description contained in the first column of the Table (including having no PAYE scheme).
3
The size of an employer’s PAYE scheme means the number of persons within that scheme.
4
The number of persons within a PAYE scheme is based on the latest information available to the Regulator, as at 1st April 2012.
5
Where—
a
the employers’ duties first apply to an employer in accordance with the Table, and
b
for any reason, an employer has another PAYE scheme (or schemes),
the employers’ duties apply to that employer in respect of the scheme (or schemes) mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) from the staging date applicable in relation to sub-paragraph (a) (and this is so even where the staging date mentioned in the Table for any such scheme (or schemes) is later than the staging date referred to in sub-paragraph (a)).
6
Any employer who first pays PAYE income in respect of a worker between—
a
1st April 2012, and
b
up to (but not including) 1st April 2016,
is to be treated as a new employer in accordance with the relevant entry in the first column of the Table.
7
Where paragraph (6) applies, the employers’ duties do not apply to such an employer until PAYE income is first payable in respect of any worker and then only in accordance with the Table.
8
Where—
a
an employer pays PAYE income in respect of any worker from 1st April 2016, and
b
the employers’ duties do not already apply to that employer,
the employers’ duties apply to that employer from the day on which PAYE income is payable.
Early automatic enrolment3
1
Where the conditions in paragraphs (3) and (4) are both satisfied, the employers’ duties apply to an employer from—
a
any date in the third column of the Table which is earlier than the staging date corresponding to that employer’s description, or
b
1st December 2012,
and, for the purposes of this regulation, that date is the early automatic enrolment date.
2
Where the condition in paragraph (3) is satisfied but the condition in paragraph (4) is not satisfied, the employers’ duties apply to an employer from the staging date corresponding to that employer’s description, as prescribed in the third column of the Table.
3
The first condition is that an employer must fall within any description in the first column of the Table.
4
The second condition is that an employer has chosen an early automatic enrolment date (within the meaning of paragraph (1)) for the employers’ duties to apply, which is earlier than the date mentioned in the third column of the Table corresponding to that employer, and has—
a
contacted a pension scheme which the employer considers could be used to comply with the employers’ duties;
b
secured the agreement of the trustee or manager (or scheme administrator or provider) of that scheme that that scheme was to be used by the employer to comply with those duties from that early automatic enrolment date, and
c
notified the Regulator accordingly in writing, at any time before either—
i
where paragraph (1)(a) applies, the date specified in the second column of the Table corresponding to that earlier date, or
ii
where paragraph (1)(b) applies, 1st November 2012.
Staging of the employers’ duties4
1
The Table in this regulation sets out the application of the employers’ duties.
2
Where a date prescribed in the second column of the Table falls on a day which is not a working day, that date is to be treated as the next working day (and for the purposes of this paragraph “working day” means a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday).
Employer (by PAYE scheme size or other description) | Date before which notification to automatically enrol early must be sent | Staging date |
|---|---|---|
120,000 or more | 1st September 2012 | 1st October 2012 |
50,000-119,999 | 1st October 2012 | 1st November 2012 |
30,000-49,999 | 1st December 2012 | 1st January 2013 |
20,000-29,999 | 1st January 2013 | 1st February 2013 |
10,000-19,999 | 1st February 2013 | 1st March 2013 |
6,000-9,999 | 1st March 2013 | 1st April 2013 |
4,100-5,999 | 1st April 2013 | 1st May 2013 |
4,000-4,099 | 1st May 2013 | 1st June 2013 |
3,000-3,999 | 1st June 2013 | 1st July 2013 |
2,000-2,999 | 1st July 2013 | 1st August 2013 |
1,250-1,999 | 1st August 2013 | 1st September 2013 |
800-1,249 | 1st September 2013 | 1st October 2013 |
500-799 | 1st October 2013 | 1st November 2013 |
350-499 | 1st December 2013 | 1st January 2014 |
250-349 | 1st January 2014 | 1st February 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 92, A1-A9, AA-AZ, B1-B9, BA-BY, M1-M9, MA-MZ, Z1-Z9 or ZA-ZZ | 1st February 2014 | 1st March 2014 |
240-249 | 1st March 2014 | 1st April 2014 |
150-239 | 1st April 2014 | 1st May 2014 |
90-149 | 1st May 2014 | 1st June 2014 |
50-89 | 1st June 2014 | 1st July 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers BZ | 1st July 2014 | 1st August 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 00-01 | 1st August 2014 | 1st September 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 02-04 | 1st September 2014 | 1st October 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 05-07, 0A-0Z, C1-C9, CA-CZ, D1-D9 or DA-DZ | 1st October 2014 | 1st November 2014 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 08-11, 1A-1Z, E1-E9 or EA-EZ | 1st December 2014 | 1st January 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 12-15, 2A-2Z, F1-F9, FA-FZ, G1-G9 or GA-GZ | 1st January 2015 | 1st February 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 16-20, 3A-3Z, H1-H9 or HA-HZ | 1st February 2015 | 1st March 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers I1-I9, IA-IZ | 1st March 2015 | 1st April 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 21-25, 4A-4Z, J1-J9 or JA-JZ | 1st April 2015 | 1st May 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 26-31, 5A-5Z, K1-K9 or KA-KZ | 1st May 2015 | 1st June 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 32-38, 6A-6Z, L1-L9 or LA-LZ | 1st June 2015 | 1st July 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers N1-N9 or NA-NZ | 1st July 2015 | 1st August 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 39-47, 7A-7Z, O1-O9, OA-OZ, P1-P9 or PA-PZ | 1st August 2015 | 1st September 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 48-57, 8A-8Z, Q1-Q9, QA-QZ, R1-R9, RA-RZ, S1-S9, SA-SZ, T1-T9 or TA-TZ | 1st September 2015 | 1st October 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 58-69, 9A-9Z, U1-U9, UA-UZ, V1-V9, VA-VZ, W1-W9, WA-WZ | 1st October 2015 | 1st November 2015 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 70-83, X1-X9, XA-XZ, Y1-Y9 or YA-YZ | 1st December 2015 | 1st January 2016 |
Less than 50 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 84-91 or 93-99 | 1st January 2016 | 1st February 2016 |
(a) Less than 50 unless otherwise described or (b) no PAYE scheme | 1st January 2016 | 1st February 2016 |
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2013) | 1st February 2016 | 1st March 2016 |
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2013 and 31st December 2013) | 1st April 2016 | 1st May 2016 |
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st January 2014 and 30th September 2014) | 1st May 2016 | 1st June 2016 |
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st October 2014 and 30th June 2015) | 1st July 2016 | 1st August 2016 |
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st July 2015 and 31st March 2016) | 1st September 2016 |
Transitional periods for money purchase and personal pension schemes5
For the purposes of section 29 (transitional periods for money purchase and personal pension schemes)—
a
the first transitional period is 4 years, beginning with the coming into operation of section 20 (quality requirement: UK money purchase schemes), and
b
the second transitional period is one year, beginning with the end of the first transitional period.
Transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes6
For the purposes of section 30 (transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes), the transitional period for defined benefits and hybrid schemes is 4 years, beginning with the coming into operation of section 3 (automatic enrolment).
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 19th March 2010
(This note is not part of the Regulations)