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Auto-Enrolment Employer Kit
A step-by-step checklist for your workplace pension duties, plus an Excel calculator that works out employer and employee contributions for every member of staff.
Please read before using: This is general information, not tax, legal or financial advice. Figures and dates are for 2026/27 and can change. Check GOV.UK or take professional advice for your situation.
What’s Included
- Employer checklist (PDF, 2 pages) — set-up, assessing workers, telling staff, paying contributions and re-enrolment.
- Who to enrol — eligible jobholders, non-eligible jobholders and entitled workers, with what you must do for each.
- Contribution calculator (Excel) — enter pay and percentages to see employer and employee contributions on qualifying earnings or total pay.
- Staff list — assess up to 30 people at once, with monthly employer cost totals.
- 2026/27 figures — £10,000 trigger, £6,240 to £50,270 earnings band, 8% minimum with at least 3% from you.
Why It Matters
- Every employer with staff has duties, even a company with one employee. Missing them can lead to Pensions Regulator penalty notices.
- Pay crossing the £10,000 trigger in a single pay period can start your duty to enrol, so assessing once at hiring is not enough.
- Re-enrolment and re-declaration repeat every 3 years. Many employers forget the second cycle.
- Contribution percentages apply to qualifying earnings unless your scheme uses total pay, so the maths differs from simply taking 8% of salary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Workers aged 22 to State Pension age who earn over £10,000 a year and work in the UK. Workers aged 16 to 21, or State Pension age to 74, earning over £6,240 can ask to join and you must contribute. Workers earning under £6,240 can ask to join, but you do not have to pay employer contributions.
8% of qualifying earnings in total, with at least 3% paid by the employer. Qualifying earnings are the part of pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year, unless your scheme uses a wider pay definition.
Employee contributions deducted from pay must reach the pension scheme by the 22nd of the following month, or the 19th if paid by cheque. Employer contributions follow the dates agreed with your provider.
Every 3 years. Choose a date within 3 months either side of the third anniversary of your duties start date, put back eligible jobholders who opted out or left, and re-declare compliance to The Pensions Regulator.
Sources
- The Pensions Regulator — employer duties (checked November 2026)
- GOV.UK — workplace pensions for employers (checked November 2026)
- The Pensions Regulator — re-enrolment and re-declaration (checked November 2026)