Auto Enrolment doesn’t have to be expensive, but the fines can be!

By Mattioli Woods

20 May 2015

Production Glassfibre is the UK’s largest general moulder of glass reinforced plastic parts and products. Operating from factories across England and Scotland, Production Glassfibre employs more than 200 staff.

With multiple sites and operating factories under 3 different businesses, Production Glassfibre incurred 3 separate staging dates from the regulator. After receiving their initial staging dates letter back in 2013, the in house payroll team, pro-actively started managing the auto enrolment process needed for the July 2014 deadline.

Although employing over 200 staff, only 3% of the workforce at Production Glassfibre had already joined the workplace pension. With plenty of staff to educate on the new legislation, and with complex laws to understand, the team at Production Glassfibre sought advice from Taylor Patterson as soon as they could.

Ensuring compliance with the pensions regulator was a main priority for the team. The initial task set out for Taylor Patterson was to review the existing pension scheme Production Glassfibre already had in place, and evaluate if it was suitable enough to meet the needs of the regulator, the employer and the employee in the future. The evaluation process took into consideration how compliant the current pension was with the reforms, and if Production Glassfibre risked facing any penalties through non-compliance.

Craig Hugo, Taylor Patterson commented, “We provided our entry level auto enrolment NEST service to the team at Production Glassfibre. They were concerned the information from the regulator was quite technical and there is potential to miss an important piece of the jigsaw by getting everything ready for their deadline date. Our entry level service is ideal for this kind of sound boarding advice they needed.

We started the ball rolling by setting up a scheme with NEST on the employees behalf and assisting in the implementation of a system for uploading employee data files onto the NEST platform. By providing ongoing guidance on the various compliance requirements such as scheme certification and the declaration of compliance, we could be sure to meet their main priority.

Production Glassfibre were right to be concerned about compliance. The fines businesses now face through non- compliance can be astronomical. Employers that fail to comply can be issued with a fixed penalty of £400, followed by penalties of £50 to £10,000 a day depending on the number of employees and the scale of the offence! ”

Once the analysis had been concluded, the Payroll team at Production Glassfibre used Sage to manage their payroll and pension contributions moving forward. Taylor Patterson remained by their side to ensure the uploads of data were correct and compliant.

Vicki, Payroll Manager at Production Glassfibre ‘Our Payroll team is based in Fyfe, so it was important to us to have access to the Lancashire based team at Taylor Patterson. They were always at the end of the phone / email for us, which was perfect.

Many of the administration processes were already in place for us due to the Sage software, however we were very conscious we needed to remain compliant all the way through the process, which at times was quite tough. The language used by the regulator, is quite intricate and technical and we benefited from Taylor Pattersons experience to de-mystify these new rules and legislation. We now know we have the best pension suited to our employees, and we have a great pension take up rate from our staff and we aren’t at risk of any hefty fines.” Now all that’s left is for the team to communicate the joining process for new starters at Production Glassfibre, and manage ongoing legislation updates from the pensions regulator, safe in the knowledge that the team at Taylor Patterson are always at the end of the phone for any further assistance.

Latest news

1

New India branch campus on the horizon for Lancaster University Keir Starmer meets Indian PM and included Prof Simon Guy Lancaster University. Pic Simon Dawson

New India branch campus on the horizon for Lancaster University

09 Oct 2025

2

Best events and talented students complete finalists list for Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026 Best Events and Talented students on Lancashire Tourism Awards finalist list

Best events and talented students complete finalists list for Lancashire Tourism Awards 2026

09 Oct 2025

3

East Lancashire Learning Group named UK digital transformation leader in CIO 100 Awards Andrew Dewhurst with the award win

East Lancashire Learning Group named UK digital transformation leader in CIO 100 Awards

09 Oct 2025

4

PHX Training appoints new business leader in Blackpool Jason Davenport PHX Training

PHX Training appoints new business leader in Blackpool

09 Oct 2025

5

Velocity seals Airbus extension worth up to $54m Velocity Composites Has Announced Its Entry Into The Us Market

Velocity seals Airbus extension worth up to $54m

08 Oct 2025

Background image for hub sign up block

LBV Hub

Leverage Lancashire Business View platforms

Post your news
Post your events
Post your offers
Build your network
Improve your SEO
Gain coverage in the magazine
Sign-up
Events
CMI Level 5 Project Management Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Project Management Course

Preston Campus, Preston, PR1 2HE

08:00 - 17:00

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course
UCLanAerialCampus.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
21 Feb 2025 - 21 Feb 2026

CMI Level 5 Management and Leadership Course

Preston Campus, Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 17:00

Help to grow management course
Help to grow - barriers to growth.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
26 Sep 2025 - 16 Dec 2025

Help to grow management course

Preston Campus , Preston , PR1 2HE

09:00 - 15:00

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – Oct 10th
Ai 10.10.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
10 Oct 2025 - 10 Oct 2025

Advantage: AI – A Workshop for Business Leaders – Oct 10th

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

09:00 - 12:00

Unlocking major project opportunities in the North West
Lancs-cham-logo.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
15 Oct 2025 - 15 Oct 2025

Unlocking major project opportunities in the North West

Strathmore Hotel, Morecambe, LA4 5AP

08:00 - 10:00

The New Employee Rights Landscape: Day One Compliance Essentials
EventBrite NORi - 15th Oct 2025 Webinar.png.png
LBV Hub Webinar
15 Oct 2025 - 15 Oct 2025

The New Employee Rights Landscape: Day One Compliance Essentials

Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams, PR253XH

13:30 - 15:00

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire
LBV Header (26).png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

The Business Network Central & East Lancashire

Stanley House, Blackburn, BB2 7NP

11:30 - 14:15

October Freelancer Meet-Up
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

October Freelancer Meet-Up

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

The Autumn Re set - pour me a wine
LBV Advert_Autumn Reset 1200 x 630px.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Oct 2025 - 16 Oct 2025

The Autumn Re set - pour me a wine

The Artistry House , Preston , PR1 3JJ

17:30 - 19:30

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues
EventBrite NORi - 22nd Oct Webinar.png.png
LBV Hub Webinar
22 Oct 2025 - 22 Oct 2025

HR Essentials for pubs, bars and licensed venues

Online - Teams, Leyland, PR253XH

13:30 - 15:00

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women
thumbnail_Emma Weston Illustration WENDY BOWERS RISE Illustrstion.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 18 Mar 2026

RISE - Lancashire's unique leadership programme for women

East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, Clayton le Moors, BB5 5JR

09:30 - 15:30

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre
LBV Hub Seminars
22 Oct 2025 - 09 Jan 2026

Women scaling up Blackpool Fylde and Wyre

The Small Business Academy, Blackpool, FY4 5JX

09:30 - 15:30

Advertise with us

Reaching 50,000 members, our print, digital and event platforms offer a fantastic way to raise your business profile and help you grow.

Find out more LBV124 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin