The Pensions Regulator (TPR) will prosecute a national recruitment firm, its directors and some of its senior staff for allegedly opting employees out of their pension scheme illegally.
The regulator accused Workchain Ltd, formerly trading as Smart Recruitment UK, of logging into its workplace pension scheme’s online system using employees’ personal details and ending their scheme membership.
TPR said this was illegal as employees wishing to opt out of auto-enrolment need to do so themselves.
The eight defendants, including two directors of the firm, will appear at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 7 June.
They are charged with unauthorised access to a computer programme, contrary to section 1(1) of the Computer Misuse Act 1990.
A conviction for computer misuse carries a maximum sentence of six months’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine in a magistrates’ court, or two years’ imprisonment and an unlimited fine if committed to the Crown Court.
This is the first time TPR has launched prosecutions for this offence, although it has not held back taking firms to account for auto-enrolment failings.
By 31 December TPR had served 79,879 compliance notices to employers for failing in their auto-enrolment duties resulting in 32,211 fixed penalty notices and 6,770 escalating penalty notices (EPN).
Not completing the declaration process properly is a common cause of fines, Bex Woodley, industry liaison manager at the TPR, told an event in March.
Those who fail to pay their EPN are subject to a court order.
Recent firms taken to court over auto-enrolment included bus company Stott Tours and Crest Healthcare.
carmen.reichman@ft.com
