Not all situations are clear cut when it comes to workplace pensions for your nanny and it’s important that you do the right thing, otherwise you may end up with a fine.
We look at some of the special circumstances that can occur and explain what you need to do in each one.
- Your nanny doesn’t qualify to be enrolled in the scheme
Only nannies who are over the age of 22 and earn more than £10,000 a year need to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme. If your nanny earns less than this you might not have to have a scheme in place by your duty date (the date on which you first employ a nanny). But this doesn’t mean you can ignore workplace pensions altogether.
You will need to write to your nanny about their pension options and you will need to submit a declaration of compliance to confirm that your nanny wasn’t eligible to be enrolled at your staging date.
Your nanny can ask to join a scheme and if this happens you’ll need to go through the process of choosing and setting up a workplace pension scheme.
More on what to do if your nanny doesn’t qualify for auto enrolment
- No longer an employer
If you did have a nanny and were issued with a staging date by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), but no longer have a nanny and don’t run a PAYE scheme, you must let TPR know. If TPR thinks you’re an employer and you miss your staging date you may get a warning, followed by a fine.
We can get in touch with TPR and submit the relevant form on your behalf, for a small fee, please get in touch for details.
If you subsequently re-employ again in the future, your workplace pension duties with be effective from your nanny’s start date.
- Employee temporarily absent
If you have a nanny that’s away on maternity leave or on sick leave and not earning enough to qualify to be automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme, you’ll need to follow the usual process of writing to your nanny when you reach your staging date and of completing a declaration of compliance.
