LEBC Group has auto-enrolled its workforce almost a year before its staging date.
The independent financial advice firm and employee benefits consultancy opted to auto-enrol on 1 July 2013, rather than 1 May 2014, to ensure it fully understood, from practical experience, the actual issues its employer clients’ HR and finance departments will encounter as they reach their own staging dates.
The organisation, which has 143 employees, provides employees with a group personal pension (GPP) plan. It has introduced The People’s Pension, from provider B&CE, for its auto-enrolled employees.
Glynn Jones (pictured), divisional director at LEBC Group, said: “As an adviser in auto-enrolment, it was important we best understood from real experience what our [employer] clients would go through and to make sure our æComply online service meets their demands.
“Where possible, employers should be considering their plans for their staging dates now to make it easier for themselves. The more time employers allow, the more they will be able to become familiar with auto-enrolment, and bring their own internal processes into alignment with the compliance requirements.
“In addition, if the anticipated capacity crunch happens, then employers can possibly secure better-quality pension provision for their employees and greater support from advisers by planning early.”
