NHBF tells salons ‘don’t ignore workplace pensions’

The Pensions Regulator has launched a new TV advertising campaign urging small businesses not to ignore the arrival of auto-enrolment, or compulsory workplace pensions, within their industries.

Pensions auto-enrolment is a nationwide change in the law that is making it compulsory for businesses of all sizes to offer, and pay into, a workplace pension for their employees. 

For most small salons, their “staging date” – the point from which they need to have a pension in place – will be either next year or during 2017.  It can take as long as a year to sort out all the groundwork to prepare for this change, so both the NHBF and The Pensions Regulator are urging salons not to delay. 

To help salons, the NHBF last year launched a pension scheme specifically for salons and has been running workshops and seminars explaining the change to salon owners throughout 2015. These will continue through 2016. 

NHBF president Paul Curry said: “The latest TV advert from The Pensions Regulator is a timely reminder to salon owners that, if they haven’t done so already, they need to focus on the fact pensions auto-enrolment is coming and it will be a new legal responsibility they have to meet. 

Hilary Hall, NHBF’s chief executive, added:

Even if your staging date is in 2017 you need to be preparing for pensions auto-enrolment right now. There’s lots you’ll need to sort out, including who among your team will need to be enrolled in a pension, what you and they will need to pay, ensuring you have the right software in place and simply choosing a pension that is right for you.

“Salons that fail to offer employees access to a pension when they should risk heavy fines of up to £50,000.  According to latest statistics from the regulator, in just the three months to September it issued 469 compliance notices and 107 fixed penalty notices*.

The National Hairdressers’ Federation already has practical guides for employers to help salons get ready for pensions auto-enrolment.  It has now launched its guide for employees so they also fully understand how the NHBF pension scheme works and what they are signing up to in what will be one of the biggest changes within the industry for decades.