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

Three weekly domestic waste collection considered in plans Waste recycling Blackpool

Three weekly domestic waste collection considered in plans

01 Jul 2025

2

Graham Engineering confirms sale to a2e Industries Graham Engineering

Graham Engineering confirms sale to a2e Industries

01 Jul 2025

3

Training 2000 celebrates 'Good' rating by Ofsted Training 2000

Training 2000 celebrates 'Good' rating by Ofsted

01 Jul 2025

4

Fox Group acquires J Fisher and Sons Colin Fisher, Paul Fox CEO and Gary Fisher.

Fox Group acquires J Fisher and Sons

01 Jul 2025

5

Beever and Struthers strengthen leadership team with new partners Dean Curtis and Joe Diston

Beever and Struthers strengthen leadership team with new partners

01 Jul 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
LBV123 July/August Launch Event
Lancashire Business View magazine launch
Networking
16 Jul 2025

LBV123 July/August Launch Event

Burnley

08:30 - 10:30

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025
BEC 315 X 315 Px
Networking
25 Sep 2025

Lancashire Built Environment Conference 2025

Blackpool Football Club, Blackpool, FY1 6HX

08:30 - 13:00

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

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

The Marketing Metrics that Matter – July 4
LBV Hub Seminars
04 Jul 2025 - 04 Jul 2025

The Marketing Metrics that Matter – July 4

Door4 Office, Burnley Wharf, Burnley, BB11 1JG

08:30 - 11:00

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase
unnamed (2).jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Seminars
09 Jul 2025 - 09 Jul 2025

Tri-Site Survey Equipment Showcase

Crow Wood Hotel, Burnley, BB12 0RT

09:30 - 16:00

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers
Champagne-Jewellery 10 07 25_page-0001.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Awards
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Blackburn Cathedral hosts Champagne and Diamonds Event with Ainsworth Jewellers

Blackburn Cathedral, Blackburn, BB1 5AA

18:00 - 20:30

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast
talentreimaginedbb.png.png
LBV Hub Seminars
10 Jul 2025 - 10 Jul 2025

Choose Chorley for Business - Talent Reimagined Business Breakfast

Strawberry Fields Digital Hub, Chorley, PR71PS

08:00 - 10:30

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past
1750160034867.png.png
LBV Hub Networking
16 Jul 2025 - 16 Jul 2025

Shaping Preston's future by remembering its past

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 20:30

Chamber Summer BBQ
LBV Hub Social
17 Jul 2025 - 17 Jul 2025

Chamber Summer BBQ

The Borough, Dalton Square, Lancaster, LA1 1PP

17:30 - 20:00

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?
July Longer Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
29 Jul 2025 - 29 Jul 2025

Preston Tech Connection: Web3 is Dead. Or is It?

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

18:00 - 19:30

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July
Longer July Banner.jpg.jpg
LBV Hub Networking
31 Jul 2025 - 31 Jul 2025

Preston Freelancer Meet-Up: July

Society1, Coworking Space, Preston, PR1 3LT

10:00 - 11:30

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 LBV122 Online Graphic
Subscribe now

Weekly news bulletin