Auto-enrolment may also have implications for your IT systems. The payroll software that you use will have to know both what auto-enrolment is and which pharmacy employees qualify as eligible jobholders.

It would be sensible to consider now whether you will need to modify or change your existing payroll systems.

From the staging date, the law will presume that you have fulfilled all your auto-enrolment obligations. Fines can be imposed through penalty notices for non-compliance and these will continue to accrue until the discrepancies are resolved. Criminal sanctions can be imposed in extreme cases of non-compliance.

It is therefore important that you put appropriate procedures in place to prevent auto-enrolment from becoming a problem to your pharmacy business.

Activity

Consider how auto-enrolment will affect your business: what is your staging date? How many employees will be affected and how much will this cost your business? Which auto-enrolment scheme will you use?

Author Richard Hough is partner, pharmacist and head of healthcare at Brabners LLP.
Contact him on 0151 600 3302, or at richard.hough@brabners.com