2012 No. 332

Pensions

The Employers' Duties (Implementation) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012

Made

Coming into operation

The Department for Social Development makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 12, 29(2), 30(8) and 113(2) of the Pensions (No. 2) Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 M1.

Annotations:
Marginal Citations

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Employers' Duties (Implementation) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 and shall come into operation on 1st October 2012.

Amendment of the Employers' Duties (Implementation) Regulations2

1

The Employers' Duties (Implementation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 M2 are amended in accordance with paragraphs (2) to (8).

2

In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) for the definition of “staging date” substitute—

“staging date” means the date prescribed in accordance with regulation 2(1) on which the employers' duties apply to employers;

3

In regulation 2 (application of the employers' duties to employers)—

a

for paragraph (1) substitute—

1

Except where an employer satisfies the conditions for early automatic enrolment in regulation 3 M3, the employers' duties do not apply to employers described in the first column of the Table M4 until—

a

the corresponding staging date prescribed in the third column of the Table, or

b

in a case to which paragraph (1A) applies—

i

the corresponding staging date prescribed in the third column of the Table, or

ii

where the employer so chooses, the corresponding staging date prescribed in the third column of the Table as modified by regulation 4A M5.

1A

This paragraph applies in a case where, on 1st April 2012, the employer—

a

had less than 50 workers, and

b

had, or was part of, one or more PAYE schemes M6 in which there were 50 or more persons.

b

in paragraphs (6)(b) and (8)(a) for “1st April 2016” substitute “ 1st October 2017 ”;

c

after paragraph (8) add—

9

This paragraph applies in the case of an employer who does not have a PAYE scheme in respect of any worker after 1st April 2017.

10

Where paragraph (9) applies and the employers' duties do not already apply to that employer, the employers' duties apply to that employer from the date on which qualifying earnings are payable to any worker.

4

In regulation 3 (early automatic enrolment)—

a

after paragraph (1) insert—

1A

This regulation does not apply where the employer has chosen a staging date in accordance with regulation 2(1)(b)(ii).

b

in paragraph (4)(b) M7 for “of that scheme” substitute “ of a pension scheme ”.

5

In regulation 4 (staging of the employers' duties) in the Table for the entries from “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” to the end substitute—

160-249

1st March 2014

1st April 2014

90-159

1st April 2014

1st May 2014

62-89

1st June 2014

1st July 2014

61

1st July 2014

1st August 2014

60

1st September 2014

1st October 2014

59

1st October 2014

1st November 2014

58

1st December 2014

1st January 2015

54-57

1st February 2015

1st March 2015

50-53

1st March 2015

1st April 2015

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 92, A1-A9, B1–B9, AA–AZ, BA-BW, M1-M9, MA-MZ, Z1-Z9, ZA-ZZ, 0A-0Z, 1A-1Z or 2A-2Z

1st May 2015

1st June 2015

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers BX

1st June 2015

1st July 2015

40-49

1st July 2015

1st August 2015

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers BY

1st August 2015

1st September 2015

30-39

1st September 2015

1st October 2015

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers BZ

1st October 2015

1st November 2015

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 02-04, C1-C9, D1-D9, CA-CZ or DA-DZ

1st December 2015

1st January 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 00, 05-07, E1-E9 or EA-EZ

1st January 2016

1st February 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 01, 08-11, F1-F9, G1-G9, FA-FZ or GA-GZ

1st February 2016

1st March 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 12-16, 3A-3Z, H1-H9 or HA-HZ

1st March 2016

1st April 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers I1-I9 or IA-IZ

1st April 2016

1st May 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 17-22, 4A-4Z, J1-J9 or JA-JZ

1st May 2016

1st June 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 23-29, 5A-5Z, K1-K9 or KA-KZ

1st June 2016

1st July 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 30-37, 6A-6Z, L1-L9 or LA-LZ

1st July 2016

1st August 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers N1-N9 or NA-NZ

1st August 2016

1st September 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 38-46, 7A-7Z, O1-O9 or OA-OZ

1st September 2016

1st October 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 47-57, 8A-8Z, Q1-Q9, R1-R9, S1-S9, T1-T9, QA-QZ, RA-RZ, SA-SZ or TA-TZ

1st October 2016

1st November 2016

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 58-69, 9A-9Z, U1-U9, V1-V9, W1-W9, UA-UZ, VA-VZ or WA-WZ

1st December 2016

1st January 2017

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 70-83, X1-X9, Y1-Y9, XA-XZ or YA-YZ

1st January 2017

1st February 2017

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers P1-P9 or PA-PZ

1st February 2017

1st March 2017

Less than 30 with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 84-91 or 93-99

1st March 2017

1st April 2017

Less than 30 persons in the PAYE scheme not meeting any other description contained in the first column of this Table

1st March 2017

1st April 2017

Employer who does not have a PAYE scheme

1st March 2017

1st April 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2012 and 31st March 2013)

1st April 2017

1st May 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2014)

1st June 2017

1st July 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2014 and 31st March 2015)

1st July 2017

1st August 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st April 2015 and 31st December 2015)

1st September 2017

1st October 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st January 2016 and 30th September 2016)

1st October 2017

1st November 2017

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st October 2016 and 30th June 2017)

1st December 2017

1st January 2018

New employer (PAYE income first payable between 1st July 2017 and 30th September 2017)

1st January 2018

1st February 2018

6

After regulation 4 insert—

4A

1

For the purposes of regulation 2(1)(b)(ii), the date in the third column of the Table is modified in accordance with paragraph (2).

2

Where the staging date in the third column of the Table is in the period—

a

beginning with 1st October 2012 and ending on 1st November 2012, the modified date is 1st August 2015;

b

beginning with 1st January 2013 and ending on 1st February 2013, the modified date is 1st October 2015;

c

beginning with 1st March 2013 and ending on 1st April 2013, the modified date is 1st January 2016;

d

beginning with 1st May 2013 and ending on 1st June 2013, the modified date is 1st February 2016;

e

beginning with 1st July 2013 and ending on 1st August 2013, the modified date is 1st March 2016;

f

beginning with 1st September 2013 and ending on 1st October 2013, the modified date is 1st April 2016;

g

beginning with 1st November 2013 and ending on 1st January 2014, the modified date is 1st May 2016;

h

beginning with 1st February 2014 and ending on 1st April 2014, the modified date is 1st July 2016;

i

beginning with 1st May 2014 and ending on 1st July 2014, the modified date is 1st September 2016;

j

beginning with 1st August 2014 and ending on 1st October 2014, the modified date is 1st November 2016;

k

beginning with 1st November 2014 and ending on 1st January 2015, the modified date is 1st February 2017, or

l

beginning with 1st March 2015 and ending on 1st April 2015, the modified date is 1st April 2017.

F17

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F18

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Revocations3

Regulation 3(5) and (6) of the Automatic Enrolment (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012 M8 is revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Social Development on 5th September 2012

Anne McCleary A senior officer of theDepartment for Social Development

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Employers' Duties (Implementation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010 (“the 2010 Regulations”).

Regulation 2—

  • substitutes the definition of “staging date” in regulation 1(2) of the 2010 Regulations;

  • amends the staging date in regulation 2 of the 2010 Regulations;

  • inserts paragraph (1A) into regulation 3 of the 2010 Regulations to disapply that regulation where an employer chooses a modified staging date and make a minor correction to paragraph (4)(b) of that regulation;

  • amends the table of staging dates in regulation 4 of the 2010 Regulations;

  • modifies the date on which the employers' duties apply to certain employers who have fewer than 50 workers on 1st April 2012: those employers may choose to delay the date on which the automatic enrolment duties apply;

  • further amends the transitional period—

    • in regulation 5 of the 2010 Regulations during which the employer is able to phase in the rate at which contributions are payable by paying contributions at a lower rate until the end of the transitional period, and

    • in regulation 6 of the 2010 Regulations during which the employer can delay automatic enrolment for certain jobholders.

Regulation 3 makes consequential revocations.

An assessment of the impact on business of these Regulations is detailed in a Regulatory Impact Assessment, a copy of which has been laid in the Business Office and the Library of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Copies of the Assessment are available from the Department for Social Development, Social Security Policy and Legislation Division, Level 1, James House, 2-4 Cromac Avenue, Gasworks Business Park, Ormeau Road, Belfast BT7 2JA or from the website: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/ssa/ssani-publications/ssani-pensions-publications.htm. A copy of the Assessment is also annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside this Statutory Rule on the website: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr.