LONDON, ENGLAND — (Marketwire) — 09/27/12 — Mandatory pensions for all SME staff from 2014 may dent the bottom line but it needn-t be a legal minefield if companies prepare early, according to QualitySolicitors.
From 1st October 2012, all companies who employ 250 or more employees will be required by law to include all those employees in a UK pension scheme. This change in legislation follows the 2011 Pension Reform Act and means that employers are legally required to pay into each employee-s pension plan. Employees can choose to -opt out- but they must do this themselves; an employer cannot do it for them, or be seen to assist them to opt out. The employees will also be -re-enrolled- back into the pension scheme automatically every three years.
Small and medium sized companies do have more time to make the adjustments but should prepare early to ensure both they and their employees fully understand the new laws and are compliant with the new system.
Lorraine Adams, Head of the Employment Department with QualitySolicitors Talbots sets out what SMEs should be thinking about to prepare for the changes.
Companies with 50 to 249 staff must implement a pension scheme between 1 April 2014 and 1 July 2014; and those with 49 employees or less between 1 August 2014 and 1 September 2016.
About QualitySolicitors:
– Launched in 2010, QualitySolicitors is a group of law firms across the country working as part of the QualitySolicitors brand. Only one firm per local area is selected to become a QualitySolicitors partner. Customer feedback forms an integral part of the selection process.
– QualitySolicitors- national network of lawyers consists of over 400 branches across England and Wales, including 150 Legal Access Points in WHSmith stores.
– QualitySolicitors lawyers are experts in their fields dealing with both consumer and SME legal matters. QualitySolicitors offer a personal, local service but with the assurance of a recognised national brand.
– QualitySolicitors- CEO is Craig Holt and Saleem Arif is the COO.
– Web address is
– In 2011 QualitySolicitors secured equity investment from Palamon Capital Partners, a private equity house with a GBP 700m fund
– QualitySolicitors launched a multi-million pound, national campaign in 2012, designed to shake up the legal world and help make solicitors- services more accessible to everyone. The campaign, which is the largest in the history of the legal profession, kicked off with a 90-second TV advert screened in a primetime slot during the live final of ITV-s Dancing on Ice, on 25th March. A further 8,000 more adverts were broadcast in May. A new website, featuring 300 video testimonials from clients explaining the services that QualitySolicitors offer on the high street, also launched in at the end of March. Click to view the advert in full.
Contacts:
QualitySolicitors
0207 618 9189