The Pensions Regulator is taking action against a care worker agency and its managing director for failing to comply with auto-enrolment duties.
According to TPR SKL Professional Recruitment Agency and Linus (Lee) Kadzere failed to provide staff with a workplace pension and lied by telling the watchdog 22 staff had been enrolled in a scheme.
The firm and director face three charges of wilfully failing to comply with their automatic enrolment duties and one charge of knowingly or recklessly providing false and misleading information to TPR.
SKL, which is a specialist agency providing workers in the care sector, and Mr Kadzere will appear before the Brighton Magistrates’ Court on September 4.
In a magistrates’ court, the maximum sentence for each is an unlimited fine.
Last month (July 19), it was revealed that TPR was only able to collect £8.9m, or 13 per cent, of the £68.6m in penalties issued during 2018/19 under auto-enrolment.
According to its annual report and accounts, there was a 37 per cent increase in fines issued to employers for not complying with their duties in this area, amounting to 49,032 penalty notices.
The regulator had not been able to collect £20.1m in fines but stated it had "proactively sought payment of any outstanding penalties" and this work would continue.
From the total of £68.6m in fines TPR decided to not pursue £9.2m, as some of these penalties were written off and others were considered to be in remission.
amy.austin@ft.com
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