As expected, the Pensions Bill received Royal Assent this week and has now become the Pensions Act 2011. On the back of this, the REC is currently developing a wide-ranging support programme to ensure that recruiters can prepare their business, their clients and their workers for the changes.
Under the Pensions Act, employers will have to automatically enrol their employees into a pensions scheme. This will include recruitment agencies that will have to automatically enrol their temporary workers after 12 weeks on assignment with an agency.
To prepare members, the REC will be launching a suite of new services and products including briefings, webinars and a pensions tool-kit. The support programme will begin with a Pensions Briefing on 15th November. Further briefings and workshops will be held during 2012.
Commenting on the latest development and on the forthcoming member briefing, Scott Pendry, Policy Advisor at the REC says:
“This week’s announcement is an important milestone. It is full steam ahead in terms of helping the industry to prepare. Although the changes are being phased in and not all recruiters will be impacting in 2012, it is important to start getting to grips with the practical implications of auto-enrolment.
“The forthcoming briefing will provide recruiters with the opportunity to hear the expert views of the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). The aim is to enable REC members to start disseminating information through their business as well as to clients and workers.”
