Seasonal Workers Webinar Q+A Session

During the live seasonal workers webinar on Wednesday, there was a question and answer session that allowed participants to ask our Training and Product Manager; Bramwell Appleton more detailed questions around the workplace pensions legislation and how it affects seasonal workers. These Q+A sessions allow participants of the webinar to gain a greater insight into more specific details of auto enrolment such as how it affects new starters and how the IRIS AE Suite™ helps to streamline the auto enrolment process.

Here is a quick transcript of the Q+A session so you can see what it is that was asked during the webinar:

Question: Can you explain in more detail the 'transition period?'

Answer: The transitional period can be applied to workers who are already in a defined benefit or hybrid pension scheme and may with to delay the employees moving to an automatic enrolment scheme.

If you do not have a pension scheme in place you won't be using the transitional period because you don't have a pension scheme already. You will start assessing your employees in at your staging date and can apply postponement if you wish.

Question: We have one employee who has a private pension that we contribute to. Will we have to automatically enroll this one?

Answer: It depends if it is a qualifying scheme or not. If it is, then they will not be automatically enrolled. If it isn't then they would need to be assess and enrolled.

Question: "Beaters". These are people who work for an employer for a few months of the year but are classed as being employed for each day they might work. What are the responsibilities of the employer under auto enrolment to these employees?

Answer: Even though the "beaters" would start and stop on the same day they would still need to be assessed and enrolled in to a pension scheme if required. Letters are required to be sent to all starters regardless of worker status. Although the beaters are unlikely to be enrolled they would have to be assessed and postponed as required.

Question: If an employee on £12,000 p.a. starts half way through the month and therefore is paid £500 in the first month are they below the AE threshold in the first month but will then be above in the following month?

Answer: The IRIS AE Suite™ will assess the worker on a period by period basis, so in the 1st month with £500 they would be below the threshold, but in month 2 with £1000 they would be above and as long as they are the right age would be enrolled.

Question: Does IRIS AE Suite™ automatically enrol the employees that are eligible workers?

Answer: The IRIS AE Suite™ will automatically assess and enrol workers who are eligible jobholders. It will assess employees each pay period - weekly, monthly, etc.

Question: How do I know how much to reimburse an employee after he/she has been automatically enrolled and has opted out. Does the IRIS AE Suite™ software calculate this for me?

Answer: The IRIS AE Suite™ will calculate the refunds and apply those to the payroll for you once you enter the opt-out date.

Question: How many times can you use postponement? Do you only have to enrol an employee if on the 3rd month they fall into the eligible jobholder threshold?

Answer: You can use postponement as many times as you want, as long as at the end of the postponement period the employee is not an eligible jobholder.

Question: Where can we access the appropriate letters fitting the four criterias needed to remain compliant with auto enrolment legislation?

Answer: The letters are built in to the IRIS AE Suite™ and so can take care of creating, and delivering the letters to your employees.

Question: Where do you enter the opt out date for an emloyee in IRIS?

Answer: This would be done within the record card of the employee, under the pension option - depends which IRIS software you are using.

The IRIS Training webinars and seminars are a great place for you to be interactive with our specialists in legislation and software. Why not take a look at our range of available IRIS Training courses here.

You can find out more about the IRIS AE Suite™ by taking a non-obligation product walkthrough with one of our trained auto enrolment specialists:

Book a free product walkthrough