Pension enrolment law leaves Yorkshire companies with £1bn bill

The study by independent economic consultancy the Centre for Economics Business Research found that each business will need to consider 33 different administrative tasks to enrol eligible staff into a workplace pension.

It estimates that this will take each employer up to 103 working days.

Businesses in Yorkshire with around 500 employees are facing a one-off set up cost of £18,800, which is lower than the national average of £22,300, partly due to slightly lower cost of wages in the region.

The size of the total bill reflects the large number of companies in Yorkshire, with 94,800 businesses predicted to be in operation by 2018 with one to 500 employees. In addition, the report finds that Yorkshire businesses must find a cumulative total of £876m to contribute to workplace pensions by 2018. And with growing concerns over whether pensions providers will have the capacity to deal with the number of new schemes that are needed, employers are being urged to think ahead to ensure they are not left behind should their chosen provider reach full capacity.

David White, MD of Creative Auto Enrolment, which commissioned the research, said: “The costs to each business of meeting their auto enrolment responsibilities will vary based on differing labour costs across the UK, but make no mistake that getting ready for auto enrolment is a huge task. With 250 pages of guidance from The Pensions Regulator, Yorkshire businesses are facing a Herculean challenge. We’re keen to help businesses understand exactly what they can expect to encounter in terms of tasks and costs as no matter where your business is situated in the country, auto enrolment is happening and it’s crucial for firms to set aside plenty of time and resources to get to grips with what is being required to allow for the necessary processes to be put in place.”