DB Schenker – Auto Enrolment Proposals

My Ref: MRP 1/8/18                                 23rd December 2013
 
                                          Circular Num: NP/369 /13

To: The Secretary All Branches & Regional Councils

Dear Colleagues,

DB Schenker – Auto Enrolment Proposals

As you will be aware the Government introduced Pension legislation in 2008 which placed an obligation on employers to automatically enrol employees who are not already saving for their retirement into a workplace pension scheme.

This legislation became active on the 1st October 2012 with the largest of employers being the first to auto enrol ‘eligible’ Jobholders into a ‘qualifying’ workplace pension scheme. Along with the responsibility employers will also be compelled to make pension contributions.

Each employer will have been given a ‘staging date’ to begin auto enrolling employees. Depending on the size of the employers PAYE scheme, employers will have to start to auto enrol between the 1st October 2012 and 1st February 2018. Legislation allows employers to postpone AE up to 3 months.

DB Schenker (EWS) have staging dates of between 1st August 2013 to 1st May 2014.

For a worker to be ‘eligible’ to be automatically enrolled into a pension scheme the following criteria must be met:

•    Are not already in a qualifying workplace pension scheme
•    Are aged between 22 and state pension age
•    Earn more than £9,440 a year
•    Work or ordinarily work in the UK (under their contract)

I am pleased to inform you that those eligible employees working for DB Schenker will be auto enrolled into the DB Schenker section of the Railways Pension Scheme (RPS). Unlike some employees who have closed their section of the RPS to new entrants it is welcomed by the RMT that this employer is auto enrolling these workers into a decent Defined Benefit pension scheme.

In consideration the General Grades Committee made the following decision on 12th December 2013:

“That we note DB Schenker actions on Auto Enrolment and believe this is correct action to take.

Regional Council and Branches to be advised.”

I will keep you informed of future developments.

Yours sincerely,

R. Crow
General Secretary