21 January 2016

More than half a million small and micro businesses will need to begin offering pensions to their staff during 2016, and salons urgently need to check whether theirs is one of them, the NHBF has warned.

Pensions auto-enrolment is the nationwide change in the law making it compulsory for businesses of all sizes to offer, and pay into, a workplace pension for their employees. The Pensions Regulator estimates that around 512,000 small and micro businesses will hit their “staging date” in 2016, requiring them to offer a pension.

A recent survey of NHBF members suggested that nearly half expected to hit this deadline during 2016, yet, worryingly, a fifth admitted they still did not know when their staging date would be. The Pensions Regulator has a “Finding your staging date” tool on its website, thepensionsregulator.gov.uk.

As it can take as long as a year to set up and organise a pension scheme, and the fine for not offering one when you should be can be as high as £50,000, salons are urged not to ignore the arrival of this change.

The NHBF has set up a pension scheme specifically for salons, which is open to members and also to non-members. It has published a guide to auto-enrolment for employers and for employees and it is also running events throughout the year explaining how auto-enrolment works.

  • 8 February, Birmingham

  • 29 February, Sheffield

  • 21 March, Middlesbrough

  • 11 April, Liverpool

  • 16 May, Glasgow

  • 6 June, Basingstoke

  • 20June, Swansea

  • 4 July, Edinburgh

NHBF president Paul Curry said:

Many salons are now waking up to the fact they need to be offering a pension scheme to their staff. But many also, it is clear, still aren’t up to speed on what is a new legal responsibility.
“Salons also need to recognise that, even if they only have one staff member or even if their employees have said they want to opt out of a pension, they still have to offer a scheme.”

NHBF chief executive Hilary Hall added: “Pensions auto-enrolment is something salons cannot afford to ignore. The NHBF can help, through its pension scheme, its guide and its events, so use us and make sure you’re not caught out by this very important change.”