The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a new step-by-step guide to help small businesses get ready for their auto-enrolment duties.
The online guide was written specifically for employers with limited pensions experience with between one and 50 staff. It explains how to complete key tasks such as knowing when to be ready, providing a point of contact for the regulator and checking who needs to be enrolled.
The guide contains 11 steps, and will "walk employers through" their legal requirements with auto-enrolment, providing them access to the information they will need in order to comply.
Charles Counsell, executive director for automatic enrolment at TPR, said: "We are determined to do all we can to reach out to all small and micro businesses preparing for their automatic enrolment duties. We want to make the process as simple as possible so that employers can avoid the risk of non-compliance.
"Our new online 11-step guide is a key part of a wide package of measures we are rolling out to give more than a million employers all the information they need, written and produced in a way they makes sense to them."
In addition, TPR said it would send letters to 1.5 million small and micro businesses to remind employers of their duties.
TPR felt the majority of small businesses would turn to their business advisers for help and therefore it will launch an "online business adviser hub" to provide all information advisers need to help their clients.
Counsell added: "Our message to employers is to ensure you know when your automatic enrolment duties begin and start planning in good time. The regulator's website should be the first port of call for all employers and their advisers as it offers essential information about each task an employer will need to accomplish in order to comply and avoid penalties."
Earlier this month, TPR decided not to publish a list of pension schemes for small employers to comply with auto-enrolment. Last year the regulator fined 169 employers for failing to comply with auto-enrolment duties.
