Confused about workplace pension and zero-hours contract

pkwpkw1

A couple of years ago, I moved onto a zero hours contract with my employer. My hours and earnings fluctuated over this period, from working full time to having breaks and not working for a while. I am paid an hourly rate and a holiday supplement times number of hours worked, monthly.

A while ago I sent an enquiry to payroll regarding workplace pension and was simply told that they don't offer workplace pension to zero hours contract. I never thought about it again until now, when I found out that the rules say (apparently) that earning over £833 monthly qualifies me for workplace pension. At the moment I'm earning above that threshold (around 30 hours/week). Have I been misled? I'm confused.

Flugelhorn

I don't know the answer but maybe you have to have a contract with a minimum number of hours in it to qualify?

Brie

the gov.uk website states:

Everyone employed on a zero hours contract is entitled to statutory employment rights. There are no exceptions.

It also states:

Your employer must automatically enrol you into a pension scheme and make contributions to your pension if all of the following apply:

• you’re classed as a ‘worker’
• you’re aged between 22 and State Pension age
• you earn at least £10,000 per year
• you usually (‘ordinarily’) work in the UK (read the detailed guidance if you’re not sure)

elsewhere it states that a worker may be on a zero hour contract.  So it may be that you aren't earning enough annually.  Otherwise I would think you should be at least enrolled in a NEST pension assuming the company doesn't have something better.  

For what it's worth - lots of HR people get things wrong when they are stating something like they know what they are talking about.  Things change and it's hard to keep up with everything so not surprising mistakes are made.

pkwpkw1

Thanks @Brie. It may indeed be the case of not earning 10k but the reply from them sounded more like a blanket "zero hours have no pension" reply. I also wonder how you can tell yearly earnings if they are not really known until end of tax year. I don't know about NEST, will do some research. I think I need to speak to employer again and check my contract as well.

zagfles

Your zero hours contract is irrelavent, it's what you actually earn that matters . See this from the LITRG aimed at employers Pensions auto enrolment: information for employers | Low Incomes Tax Reform Group 

Marcon

pkwpkw1 said:

Thanks @Brie. It may indeed be the case of not earning 10k but the reply from them sounded more like a blanket "zero hours have no pension" reply. I also wonder how you can tell yearly earnings if they are not really known until end of tax year. I don't know about NEST, will do some research. I think I need to speak to employer again and check my contract as well.

NEST is only relevant if that's your employer's chosen workplace pension provider.

However, their website has very helpful information for someone in your position: https://www.nestpensions.org.uk/schemeweb/nest/employers/about-workplace-pensions/qualifying-employees.html

including this (potentially) useful section, if it turns out you are to an 'eligible jobholder' (see link above):

Workers who can ask to join

If a worker isn’t an eligible jobholder, they can still ask to be enrolled. What you need to do depends on whether they’re what’s known as a non-eligible jobholder or an entitled worker.

Non-eligible jobholders

If a non-eligible jobholder asks to join, you must enrol them and make contributions. These are workers who:

• earn over £10,000 a year
• and are aged between 16 and 21 or between State Pension age and 74

or

• earn above £6,240 and less than £10,000 a year
• and are aged between 16 and 74

Brie

If you earned over £10k one year then you should be allowed to join the following year and then not be kicked out as you didn't earn enough the second.  That's my understanding of it.