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12 November 2014

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‘Make payroll a priority or get help’ NEST urges employers, as it unveils new tool for intermediaries

  • 1 in 3 small and micro employers staging in 2015 lack confidence in handling their payroll and almost three quarters expect support with automatic enrolment
  • While almost three quarters administer payroll in-house, more than 1 in 10 of them don’t know what payroll system they use
  • 74 per cent say they’ll turn to intermediaries, including payroll providers and bureaux
  • NEST has today unveiled a free new tool for intermediaries called NEST Connect

NEST research published today shows that only 23 per cent of small and micro employers say they’re ‘confident’ about dealing with pensions issues.

The research also reveals that 1 in 3 lack confidence in dealing with payroll and three quarters (74 per cent) intend to turn to someone for support with automatic enrolment such as a payroll provider, IFA or accountant, highlighting a possible peak in demand for payroll support in 2015. 74 per cent of small and micro employers currently don’t offer a pension to their workers. Approximately 45,000 small and micro employers are set to stage in 2015.

A majority of small and micro employers deliver payroll in-house (72 per cent) so will need to look at their payroll processes to see if they are ready for automatic enrolment and may well turn to payroll service providers for support. Around half (54 per cent) of these employers use specialist payroll software, 1 in 7 (13 per cent) use standard software packages like Microsoft Excel and, worryingly, 1 in 10 don’t know what payroll system they use. Depending on their current set-up, employers will require varying levels of support from the payroll community.

NEST today launched a new online multi-client delegated access function called NEST Connect, built specifically for intermediaries.  It has been hailed as a ‘fantastic opportunity’ by payroll experts. With NEST Connect intermediaries can:

  • Set-up directly with NEST as a delegate organisation - Intermediaries can build a direct relationship with NEST without needing to be introduced by an employer. This means intermediaries can plan ahead and be set up and ready to deliver NEST when their clients need them.
  • Manage NEST for all their clients through one account - The NEST Connect hub allows intermediary firms to see all their clients on their personalised dashboard, using one login. This removes the need for individual passwords for each client – intermediaries can manage everything from one place, saving time and cost.
  • Manage user access within the intermediary organisation - Once the company profile and user profile has been created, the intermediary organisation is in control of setting up additional users giving access to the client accounts that they are working on. They can also remove access. Both of which aides business continuity.

Tim Jones, CEO of NEST, says:
‘This research clearly shows that 2015 employers want help. With 74 per cent of small and micro employers wanting support, around 33,000 employers are going to be keeping the intermediary community very busy in 2015.

‘Automatic enrolment isn’t just about pensions, it’s also about payroll. It’s payroll that will be assessing eligibility and calculating and making contributions. A majority of employers deliver payroll in-house and a third acknowledge that they lack confidence in handling it, so employers will need to make payroll a priority if they are to get automatic enrolment right - or turn to an intermediary for payroll support.

‘Inevitably, whether they’re hairdressers, builders, greengrocers or florists, employers want to focus on what they are good at – running their business. They may decide to handover the work to a payroll bureau or specialist and this is where NEST Connect comes in. NEST Connect will help specialists and bureaux offer an end-to-end solution from assessing workers right through to making payments.

‘NEST Connect users tell us that it enables them to build a flexible and effective proposition and it works well with their software. They say that’s what automatic enrolment needs – solutions and products that make the process easier, especially as the volume of employers ramps up.’

Richard Barnes, Payroll expert at Harper Morris, says:
‘Originally, we saw automatic enrolment as a potential threat to our business. Now, it’s a fantastic opportunity to grow our business. The new functionality of NEST Connect shows that NEST is evolving with people like us in mind. NEST understands what we need and adds value to our business.’

Samantha Berriman, Auto-Enrolment Project Manager at LEBC, says:
'We got involved in automatic enrolment from the beginning because we're committed to bringing our clients the best available solutions. We know that pensions can be daunting for employers who haven't had to fulfil this obligation before which is why we have built an end-to-end solution to help them. It is great for our clients that NEST Connect sits alongside æComply, our automatic enrolment software solution, so neatly, which helps us to continue to deliver a great service to our clients.'

NOTES TO EDITORS
To find out more about NEST Connect, please visit: www.nestpensions.org.uk/nestconnect

 

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