Auto-Enrolment for Temporary and Seasonal Staff: What Employers Need to Know

Auto-Enrolment and Temporary Staff: What Employers Need to Know

Employers in the UK have a legal duty to enrol eligible staff into a workplace pension scheme. But what happens when you take on seasonal or temporary workers? The rules still apply, but there are some important details to understand.

Who Counts as Eligible Staff?

An employee is considered eligible if they:

• Are aged between 22 and State Pension age, and

• Earn more than £192 per week (or £833 per month).

This includes temporary and seasonal workers, even if they only stay for a short period of time.

Using Postponement for Temporary Staff

Because temporary employees may start and leave mid-pay period or work irregular hours, employers can use postponement to delay assessing and enrolling them into a pension scheme for up to three months.

Employers must notify staff in writing within six weeks if postponement is being applied.

Staff Working for Less Than Three Months

For workers employed for less than three months, employers have two options:

1. Assess them each pay period and enrol if they meet eligibility criteria, or

2. Use postponement to delay assessment.

If the employee leaves before the postponement period ends, no pension enrolment is required. However, workers can request to be enrolled during the postponement period, and the employer must comply.

Staff Working for More Than Three Months

When the expectation is that temporary or seasonal staff will work beyond three months, employers can still use postponement. But in this case, postponement only delays enrolment — it does not remove the duty.

• At the end of the three-month postponement, employers must assess the worker.

• If they are eligible, they must be enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme immediately.

• If not, employers may postpone again for another three months.

As with short-term staff, employees can ask to be enrolled during postponement.

Key Takeaway

Whether staff are permanent, seasonal, or temporary, auto-enrolment rules still apply. Postponement gives employers flexibility, but eligible workers can request to join a pension scheme at any time during this period.

Partner note: www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/employers/new-employers/im-an-employer-who-has-to-provide-a-pension/work-out-who-to-put-into-a-pension/employing-seasonal-or-temporary-staff

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