Nest · CAS-91982-L2X5

CAS-91982-L2X5

Ombudsman’s Determination

Applicant Ms N

Scheme NEST (the Scheme)

Respondent Hiring Heroes Limited (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties

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On 15 May 2023, TPO asked the Employer for its formal response to Ms N’s complaint.

On 16 May 2023, the Employer responded and sent a statement that it said showed it had paid the outstanding contributions.

On 22 May 2023, TPO responded and said that the Employer needed to provide evidence to show that all contributions owed to Ms N had been paid into the Scheme. This request was repeated on 17 July 2023 and 4 August 2023.

On 4 August 2023, the Employer responded and asked what other evidence it could provide to show that all of Ms N’s contributions had been paid.

On 24 August 2023, TPO responded and said that the evidence needed to include the payment amounts, where the payment was made and who the payment applied to.

On 16 October 2023, the Employer said that important evidence that it provided TPO on 24 August 2023 had been disregarded. It provided a copy of the email it had sent on 24 August 2023 and confirmed that all payments had been made.

On 18 October 2023, Ms N confirmed to TPO that her Scheme account showed two entries from the Employer dated 11 September 2023. These two payments were for the full amount in dispute (£1,154.32 for employee pension contributions and £692.59 for employer pension contributions) covering the period for June 2021 to June 2022.

Caseworker’s Opinion

• The Caseworker stated that TPO’s normal approach, in cases such as these, was to seek agreement from all parties on the facts of the complaint, including the dates and amounts of contributions involved.

• The Caseworker said that it was accepted that all the pension contributions had been paid into the Scheme in September 2023. However, he was of the view that there was maladministration by the Employer due to contributions being deducted from Ms N’s salary and not being paid into the Scheme on time. He said that in addition, the Employer contributions that were due over the same period were also paid late. 2 CAS-91982-L2X5

• As a result of its maladministration, the Caseworker said that Ms N may not be in the financial position she ought to be in. He said that the Employer should establish this by contacting the Scheme administrator and agree to purchase any additional units which would put Ms N back in the correct financial position.

• In the Caseworker’s view, Ms N had suffered significant distress and inconvenience due to the Employer’s maladministration. The Caseworker was of the opinion that an award of £500 for non-financial injustice was appropriate in the circumstances.

The Caseworker replied to the Employer. He reiterated that the unpaid contributions were for the period of June 2021 to June 2022. He shared a screenshot provided by Ms N that showed the Scheme processed payments from the Employer on 11 September 2023.

The complaint was passed to me to consider. I agree with the Caseworker’s Opinion.

Ombudsman’s decision

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Anthony Arter CBE

Deputy Pensions Ombudsman

12 July 2024

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Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

June 2022 £101.44 £60.86

May 2022 £90.67 £54.40

April 2022 £110.68 £66.41

March 2022 £90.67 £54.40

February 2022 £90.67 £54.40

January 2022 £119.70 £71.82

December 2021 £89.83 £53.90

November 2021 £82.33 £49.40

October 2021 £82.33 £49.40

September 2021 £74.00 £44.40

August 2021 £74.00 £44.40

July 2021 £74.00 £44.40

June 2021 £74.00 £44.40

Total unpaid employee £0.00 contributions

Total unpaid employer £0,00 contributions

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