Pension contributions dispute with employer

daveconnects

Back in 2006 I was transferred under TUPE from a public sector body to a voluntary organisation.

Much discussion was held as the voluntary organisation made it clear that should the transfer happen there would need to be a discussion as it would not be able to match the terms of the conditions we had at that point.

The reality was that if the transfer did not take place it was likely the service I worked for would be closed with subsequent redundancy.

As part of the negotiations our public sector employer offered a compromise agreement settlement (non disclosure) and the new employer offered a compromise regarding pension contributions. Their pension contributions was 3% employee and 3% employer contribution. This was far less than we received under the NHS but they increased this to 6% employee and 6% employer contribution and this effectively secured the deal and we accepted the transfer.

We never received a letter from either the NHS not our new employer to confirm this arrangement. This is where things get complicated.

We were indeed keeping to the 6% and 6% deal. However an error by the payroll department has recently come to light. When they transferred us, instead of entering a 6% entry on their system they entered the 6% as a value in pounds.

What this has meant is that as my pay has increased over the past 7 years, pension contributions from my employer has remained stagnant as have my deductions from my take home pay. I'm kicking myself that I never thought to check the pension element of my wage slip. Silly i know.

The problem i have now is that while my employer seems to acknowledge the mistake made on the system originally they now seem to be making it very difficult to get this resolved. The CEO called me into a meeting today to say that he has no recollection of ever agreeing to the 6% deal in the first place and said that the organisation has searched internally for any documents from the time of the negotiations. He has effectively said if i can't find a piece of paper proving i am right then it's basically stalemate and nothing can be done.

I pointed out the fact that my payslip for the first couple of years were correct with me paying 6% and the organisation paying 6%. He then said well if that's the case it would have been a 'short term agreement' and would no longer be relevant.

I feel lost about how to proceed. I'm in a very senior position in the organisation but the transfer also affected two other members of staff in more junior positions who have the same recollection I do. I love working in the organisation and have had no previous dispute and get on well with the CEO and fellow staff. Yet at the same time as my salary has more than doubled in the last 12 years I have clearly had an incredible hit on contributions (including mine which were also entered as a manual amount and never changed as my salary increased).

How on earth do I move this forward? I don't want ill feeling but I know I am correct and the evidence of early wage slips shows this. I don't want to go to war as I love what I do but I am not happy with the organisation's response whatsoever. Them not having documents either way is concerning and I don't have anything I was ever given in writing at the time.

Any advice would be so welcomed.

Thanks .

jobbingmusician

In my mind (non-expert, but a CEO of a charity speaking here) there are two separate issues.

1. The original agreement for 6%
2. The long period of time where the contributions have not been maintained.

I think the CEO's 'I can't find the agreement for 6% therefore I don't believe it' argument is disingenuous, not least because the payslips for the employees concerned will show 6%, as you have pointed out. However, I don't think it's realistic or fair to expect the charity to correct an error which has run for 12 years without you spotting it. Especially as, if your pension scheme is anything like mine, you will have received annual statements from the pension provider as well.

(Sudden thought - you say your salary has more than doubled. Is your employer even matching your contributions at a 3% rate? If not, I feel you do have a case for this to be reinstated.....)

Savvy_Sue

Does the public sector body still exist in any shape or form, and can you go back to them to ask about the transfer?

Are you (or your colleagues affected by this) in a union?

Apart from that, I agree with jm.