Automatic Enrolment legislation explains your duties as an employer for workplace pensions. It may be that your company is exempt from this legislation.

This article explains how to deal with Automatic Enrolment exemptions in Sage Payroll. 

Exemptions from Automatic Enrolment

If your company only employs directors, you do not need to auto-enrol them into a pension scheme.

This may be because:

• There is only one director and your company has no other employees
• Your company has more than one director, but none of them are classed as a worker

Find out more about director exemptions from automatic enrolment (opens in a new tab)

 NOTE:  You may receive a letter from The Pensions Regulator with your Auto-Enrolment date. If you're exempt, then you need to complete The Pension Regulator online form. Access the form here Tell us you're not an employer (opens in a new tab). 

Process the exemption in Sage Payroll

There are 3 steps you need to follow to show your company is exempt from Auto-Enrolment:

1. Enter a staging date. You need to enter your staging date in Sage Payroll to start any Automatic Enrolment duties you may have. If you have a staging date from The Pensions Regulator, enter this. If not, enter a fictional staging date in the future. For help entering a staging date in Sage Payroll, read our Enter your staging date article.
2. Set up a dummy pension scheme. You need to set up a pension scheme in Sage Payroll to complete any Automatic Enrolment duties you may have. If you are exempt from these duties, you can set up a pension scheme with fictional information. For help setting up a pension scheme in Sage Payroll, read our Add a Custom pension scheme article.
3. Exclude your employees from automatic enrolment legislation. You can ensure Sage Payroll does not assess your employees for Auto-Enrolment. You specify this in their employee record. For help excluding employees, read our Exclude employees from automatic enrolment legislation article.

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For more information on your pension obligations as an employer, read our article What are my pension obligations?

For more information on pensions in Sage Payroll, read our Set up pensions article.