For example, law firm Mills and Reeve was able to align its auto-enrolment staging date, which was 1 November, with its annual flex enrolment window, which opened on 1 October.
The employer already had an 85% take-up in its group personal pension (GPP) plan, and the remaining 15% of staff who were eligible to be auto-enrolled were invited to a series of pensions presentations during the flex enrolment period.
Samantha Neaves, reward and HR information systems manager at Mills and Reeve, said: “While everyone is thinking about benefits, it seemed the most appropriate time to up the communications.”
Meanwhile, mobile phone organisation Three opted to postpone auto-enrolment from 1 July to 1 October to align the process with its flexible benefits enrolment window.
Seth Russell, director of reward at Three, said: “We had an established flexible benefits selection window two months after our staging date and decided to use this for auto-enrolment because the date was already fixed in employees’ minds as a time when benefits changes are made.
“It also allowed us to merge our communications for both elements, so we could achieve much greater cut-though in the messaging and reduce the opportunity for confusion or mixed messages.”
One of the newest categories in the Employee Benefits Awards 2014 is ‘Best pensions auto-enrolment’, which will recognise employers that maximise the opportunities offered by complying with the legislation. The awards are now open to entries.
