Automatic Enrolment: workplace pension duties for first employers

Your duties start before the first payroll feels routine

The Pensions Regulator says workplace-pension legal duties begin on the day the first member of staff starts work, called the duties start date. It also warns that duties can apply even if the employer does not initially think any staff need to be put into a scheme. Record the date alongside the planned start date, first payday and PAYE setup milestones; it is not an administrative task to leave until the end of a probation period.

The Pensions Regulator’s new-employer route provides a tailored duties timeline. Use it to see current tasks and deadlines for the business’s circumstances. A director-only company or a business with no employees may have a different position, but do not assume an exemption based solely on job titles or pay level—check the official questions and the facts.

Assess every relevant member of staff using current rules

On the duties start date, employers must assess staff age and earnings. The Pensions Regulator page checked on 25 August 2026 says staff aged from 22 up to State Pension age who earn over £10,000 a year, £833 a month or £192 a week must be put into a pension scheme and both employer and worker pay into it. These thresholds and rules can change, so check the official current position for each assessment.

Staff outside that category may not need automatic enrolment at that moment, but they can have rights to ask to join and the employer can still have communication and monitoring tasks. GOV.UK says that if a worker becomes eligible because their age or earnings change, the employer must take the current required action and write to them within the stipulated period. Variable-hours, seasonal and temporary staff still need proper assessment.

Set up the scheme and integrate it with payroll

Choose and set up a workplace pension scheme that can receive the required employee information and contributions, then configure the payroll process to assess staff, calculate and transfer contributions, retain records and send required communications. Payroll software may assist, but it does not transfer legal responsibility away from the employer. Confirm what payroll, the pension provider and any adviser will each do before the first contribution is due.

Put pension costs into the cash forecast with gross pay, employer National Insurance, payroll charges and PAYE payments. Contribution dates can differ from the employee’s payday, so record actual deadlines rather than assuming everything leaves the bank at once. The First Hire Guide owns the wider affordability decision; this guide owns the pension-duty sequence after the employment decision is made.

Communicate, declare and keep monitoring

After assessment and enrolment decisions, employers need to write to staff so they understand how automatic enrolment applies, including eligible staff who have been put into a scheme. GOV.UK’s employee guidance explains that communications cover the scheme, contributions, how to leave and tax relief. Staff have legal protections: employers must not encourage or force someone to opt out.

Keep evidence of assessment, communications, scheme setup, contributions and the declaration of compliance. Reassess staff when relevant earnings or circumstances change and complete ongoing duties, including re-enrolment where applicable. Check current Pensions Regulator instructions rather than recreating a process from an old payroll run.

Control assessment, postponement and re-enrolment dates

Record the date each worker is assessed, the information sent, the pension scheme action and the next review. Postponement, opt-out and re-enrolment are separate events with separate evidence; do not treat a worker’s initial choice as a permanent exemption.

Keep payroll, pension and employee records reconciled. A change in pay, age, worker status or employment pattern can change the assessment, so assign an owner to check the trigger rather than relying on a one-off setup.

Use The Pensions Regulator and current payroll guidance for the exact duties and dates. Escalate missed assessments, late communications or uncertain worker status before the issue becomes a complaint or enforcement problem.

What to do, in order

1. 1

   Record the duties start date

   Treat the first member of staff’s first working day as a compliance milestone and use The Pensions Regulator’s current tailored timeline.

2. 2

   Assess the relevant workforce

   Use current age and earnings rules for each relevant worker, including variable-hours and temporary staff where applicable.

3. 3

   Set up the pension and payroll hand-off

   Confirm the provider, payroll tasks, contribution process, data transfer and deadlines before the first contribution is due.

4. 4

   Communicate and complete the declaration

   Give required information to staff, avoid opt-out pressure and complete the current compliance steps by the stated deadline.

5. 5

   Run an ongoing monitoring routine

   Review changes in pay and age, retain evidence, calendar recurring tasks and follow current re-enrolment requirements.