HR advice for SAIF Members on Auto-Enrolment Pension Scheme
02/01/2018 // No CommentsHappy New Year to SAIF Members from all of us at SAIF Business Centre. At the beginning of the year, you may be preparing your budget. One importance change to factor in is an increase in the minimum amount of employer contributions paid into your auto-enrolment pension scheme.
Ensure that if your company is paying the minimum auto-enrolment contributions, ensure your budgeted auto-enrolment costs from April 2018 onwards are doubled.
| Date Effective | Employer Minimum Contribution | Staff Contribution | Total Minimum Contribution |
| Currently until 5.4.18 | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| 6.4.18 – 5.4.19 | 2% | 3% | 5% |
| 6.4.19 onwards | 3% | 5% | 8% |
Part timers and SSP entitlement
- If a part timer goes off sick, do they receive the full weekly rate of statutory sick pay (SSP) or is this calculated on a pro rata basis?
- In order to qualify for SSP, an employee must earn more than the lower earnings limit (LEL) for NI purposes. For 2017/18, the LEL threshold is £113 p.w. provided an employee earns more than this amount they will be entitled to the full weekly rate of SSP – which is currently £89.35 p.w. The fact they are employed on a part-time basis makes no difference, even if they only work for you one day per week. If the employee has a second job and exceeds the LEL threshold in that employment too, they will be entitled to receive the full weekly rate of SSP from both employers, i.e. they will get two SSP payments at the full rate, not half from each employer.
Tip. SSP entitlement only kicks in on the fourth consecutive whole day of sickness absence; the first three days are classed as waiting days and there’s no statutory right to pay.
