The Pensions Regulator: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is the UK regulator of work-based pension schemes. It works with trustees, employers, pension specialists and business advisers, giving guidance on what is expected of them. TPR is an executive non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Staging Date: The date an employer becomes subject to auto enrolment duties.

Automatic Enrolment Date: The date an eligible jobholder becomes eligible for automatic enrolment and the date from which they must be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme.

Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme (QWPS): A pension scheme that meets the qualifying criteria and the minimum requirements set out in the legislation.

Automatic Enrolment Scheme: A scheme that meets the qualifying and minimum requirements and that also has some additional features that allow workers to be automatically enrolled without requiring them to do anything.

Worker: An individual who has entered into or works under either a contract of employment or any other contract under which the individual undertakes to do work or perform services personally for another party to the contract and they don’t do this as part of their own business.

Eligible jobholder: A worker who:

• works (or ordinarily works) in Great Britain under a contract
• is aged at least 22 years but under State Pension age
• is paid qualifying earnings by an employer in a relevant pay reference period which are above the earnings trigger for Automatic Enrolment.

Non–eligible jobholder: A worker who EITHER:

• is aged between 16 and 74
• works (or ordinarily works) in Great Britain under a contract
• is paid qualifying earnings by an employer in a relevant pay reference period which are below the earnings trigger for Automatic Enrolment.

OR:

• is aged between 16 and 21 or state pension age and 74
• works (or ordinarily works) in Great Britain under a contract
• is paid qualifying earnings by an employer in a relevant pay reference period which are above the earnings trigger for Automatic Enrolment.

Entitled worker: a worker who

• is aged between 16 and 74
• works (or ordinarily works) in Great Britain under a contract
• Does not have qualifying earnings payable by the employer in the relevant pay reference period.

Qualifying earnings: A reference to earnings of between £5,824 and £43,000 made up of any of the following components of pay that are due to be paid to the worker:

• salary
• wages
• commission
• bonuses
• overtime
• statutory sick pay
• statutory maternity pay
• ordinary or additional statutory paternity pay
• statutory adoption pay

Gino Rocco is a partner at Doyle Clayton specialising in pensions.