Ros Hardiman

Human Resources Director

Pre Auto Enrolment

Identifying the best way forward

• Workforce demographics

– Majority of employees > 3 years’ service

– 78% of employees over the age of 30

– Low staff turnover and high retention

– Majority of employees salaried and above AE threshhold

• Existing pension arrangements

– > 1 year’s service

– Employer contribution 5-10%

• Our key challenges

– Significant additional cost to business

– Employee expectations

– Need to remain competitive in market and retain a fair

remuneration package

– Communicating to multi-cultural workforce

Implementation

Our Approach

• Closure of Scottish Widows scheme to new members except Execs and HODs

• Main communications from November 2013 to January 2014

• Introduction of new scheme with The People’s Pension from January 2014

• Enhanced employer contributions using basic salary as basis for calculation

• Permanent employees enrolled from January if they met criteria

• Postponement used for Casual workers

Post Auto Enrolment

What we learnt

• Get help from the experts

• Keep it as simple as possible

• Don’t over-communicate

• Consider postponement

• Track all communications and retain clear records

• Allow plenty of time to test your systems

• It’s not all over after your staging date

• Expect and budget for a low Opt Out rate

Results to Date

• Very low Opt Out rate: < 2% of permanent employees

• Enquiries from staff have been minimal

• 90% of permanent employees are now receiving employer pension contribution

• Communication continuing via Staff Newsletter and Staff Meetings

• Implementation for casual workers and new employees ongoing