Legislation was amended to allow a number of exceptions to auto enrolment and re-enrolment. When the exceptions apply the employer’s duty to enrol/re-enrol becomes optional or is removed altogether.

Guidance on enrolment into the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme is given on our website

When making your decision relating to exceptions please keep in mind:

• Has the member given notice of their intention to leave employment?
• Does the member hold a tax protection certificate?
• Has the member opted out within the previous 12 months?

It’s not compulsory to enrol employees in these circumstances. Further information can be found here (This link opens in a new window).

This guidance covers the 3 exceptions which we believe may affect those eligible to be members of the Scheme. Other exceptions relate to directors, partners of Limited Liability Partnerships, winding up lump sums in DC Schemes and employers of workers who are engaged in cross-border activities within the European Union.

We’ve also become aware of an additional exception. The vast majority of employers will have already passed their first enrolment date, therefore, this exception will not impact those who have already enrolled eligible jobholders. It will affect employers who have not reached their staging date and those who have applied transitional delay.

If the individual was previously a member of the Scheme, while employed by you, and then opted out or ceased active membership more than 12 months before your first enrolment date, there is no duty to automatically enrol that person back into the Scheme.

Please note that if they ceased membership while working for another employer or, if you have restructured and so are a ‘new’ employer (e.g. an Academy) and this happened when they worked for the old employer (e.g. the school) – then this should be disregarded and the exception would not apply (so they would need to be assessed and, if eligible, automatically enrolled).

Those to whom transitional delay has been applied and who opted out before 1 October 2016, should not be enrolled on 1 October 2017. However, they must be re-assessed on the next 3rd year anniversary re-enrolment date, unless in the meantime they have re-joined the Scheme and opted out again within the 12 months leading up to the enrolment date. If they opted out within the preceding 12 months the enrolment duty is optional.

Further information relating to exceptions is available on The Pensions Regulator’s website (This link opens in a new window).