Auto enrolment contributions

Yes – under auto enrolment legislation, you can make contributions at different rates for different groups of employees. Remember, though, that auto enrolment legislation doesn’t replace any other employment legislation, so you’ll need to make sure that you comply with all your duties when you make this decision.

Yes. You’ll still need to make sure that you make monthly minimum pension contributions, but you can make additional one-off contributions too. For instance, after an employee has been awarded a bonus payment, you might need to make an additional pension contribution as part of your contractual agreement.

Employees can also make single contributions to their workplace pension.

You need to work out your contributions each time you pay your staff. Some providers, including Aviva, can only accept monthly contributions – even if you pay your staff more frequently.

Salary sacrifice is where an employee agrees to give up part of their salary or bonus in exchange for a benefit paid by their employer; in this case, the benefit would be a pension contribution. It will involve a change in contract between the employer and employee. After sacrificing the agreed amount, you, the employer, would then make a payment of the equivalent amount into the employee's pension pot.

As a result, they receive a reduced salary, meaning the National Insurance payments that you and your employee pay will be lower.

The remaining salary paid after sacrifice must not be lower than the national minimum wage.

Salary sacrifice may not be suitable for all employees, for example, it may affect the level of some future state benefits or affect an employee's ability to borrow. If you pay any of your staff the National Minimum Wage, any salary sacrifice in respect of them will not be effective, as they must receive at least the National Minimum Wage as pay.  However, they are still able to make pension contributions out of their post-tax pay.