Nest · CAS-104816-N6T2

CAS-104816-N6T2

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Ms Thompson

Scheme NEST (the Scheme)

Respondents Simon Marshall Holdings Ltd (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties The sequence of events is not in dispute, so I have only set out the salient points.

In February 2019, Ms N began her employment with the Employer.

Between June 2021 and February 2023, the Employer failed to pay pension contributions into the Scheme.

On 26 April 2023, Ms N brought her complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Ms N provided copies of some of the payslips that she held for the period June 2021 to February 2023. These deductions amounted to £675.24. A breakdown of the deductions has been included in Appendix One. She was only able to provide payslips for the following months:-

• October 2021 1 Simon Marshall Holdings Ltd CAS-104816-N6T2 • April 2022

• June 2022

• July 2022

• September 2022

• October 2022

Ms N provided bank statements which showed her net pay for December 2022, January 2023 and February 2023. These have also been included in Appendix One.

Ms N received notification letters from the Scheme administrator which confirmed that contributions were either unpaid or the Employer failed to notify it that they were due. The Scheme administrator’s letters showed that the employee and employer contributions for June 2021 to November 2022, amounted to £3,311.56. A breakdown of the contributions for this period has been included in Appendix Two.

On 5 April 2024, TPO asked the Employer for its response Ms N’s complaint. This request was repeated via email on 19 April 2024 and no response was received.

On 15 July 2024, TPO chased the Employer again via letter and email. The Employer failed to respond by the deadline.

The last contributions paid into the Scheme was on 17 June 2021 for £138.60. These contributions were for May 2021.

Adjudicator’s Opinion Ms N’s complaint was considered by one of our Adjudicators who concluded that further action was required by the Employer as it had failed to remit the contributions that were due to the Scheme. The Adjudicator’s findings are summarised below:-

• The Adjudicator stated that TPO’s normal approach, in cases such as these, was to seek agreement from all parties on the facts of the complaint, including the dates and amounts of contributions involved. She said that, as the Employer had not responded to any of TPO’s communications, she had to base her Opinion solely on the information provided by Ms N.

• The Adjudicator said that she had no reason to doubt the information provided by Ms N. So, in the Adjudicator’s Opinion, on the balance of probabilities, contributions had been deducted from Ms N’s salary, but had not been paid into the Scheme. In addition, the Employer had not paid any of the employer contributions that were due over the same period. As a result of its maladministration, Ms N was not in the financial position she ought to be in.

• According to the payslips that Ms N was able to provide the total amount outstanding was £675.24. The payslips did not show the employer contributions, 2 CAS-104816-N6T2 however the Scheme administrator’s letters provided by Ms N detailed the missing employer and employee contributions due for June 2021 to November 2022. It was the Adjudicator’s view, on the balance of probabilities, that £3,311.56 had not been remitted to the Scheme for this period.

• The Scheme notification letters show that from October 2021 to November 2022 the monthly contributions consistently remained at £112.54 in employee contributions and £84.40 in employer contributions. Ms N’s net pay for December 2022 to February 2023 was broadly similar to her net pay for October 2021 to November 2022. In the Adjudicator’s view, on the balance of probabilities, £590.82 would have also been due to Ms N’s Scheme account for December 2022 to February 2023. In total £3,902.38 had not been remitted to the Scheme.

• In the Adjudicator’s opinion, Ms N had suffered serious distress and inconvenience due to the Employer’s maladministration. The Adjudicator was of the opinion that an award of £1,000 for non-financial injustice was appropriate in the circumstances.

Ombudsman’s decision

Directions

(i) pay Ms N £1,000 for the serious distress and inconvenience she has experienced;

(ii) Ms N’s Ms N

3 CAS-104816-N6T2

;

(iii) establish with the Scheme administrator whether the late payment of contributions has meant that fewer units were purchased in Ms N’s Scheme account than she would have otherwise secured, had the contributions been paid on time; and

(iv) pay any reasonable administration fee should the Scheme administrator charge a fee for carrying out the above calculation.

Anthony Arter CBE

Deputy Pensions Ombudsman

25 October 2024

4 CAS-104816-N6T2 Appendix One Date Net pay Employee Employer contributions contributions

June 2021 - missing

July 2021 - missing

August 2021 - missing

September 2021- missing

October 2021 £2,452,43 £112.54 Not stated

November 2021 - missing

December 2021 - missing

January 2022 - missing

February 2022 - missing

March 2022 - missing

April 2022 £2,431.17 £112.54 Not stated

May 2022 – missing

June 2022 £2,431.17 £112.54 Not stated

July 2022 £2,460.98 £112.54 Not stated

August 2022 - missing

September 2022 £2,460.98 £112.54 Not stated

October 2022 £2,460.98 £112.54 Not stated

5 CAS-104816-N6T2 November 2022 - missing

December 2022 - £2489.55 missing

January 2023 - £2489.55 missing

February 2023 - £2489.55 missing

Total amount: £675.24 £675.24

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Appendix Two Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

June 2021 £79.20 £59.40

July 2021 £79.20 £59.40

August 2021 £79.20 £59.40

September 2021 £79.20 £59.40

October 2021 £112.54 £84.40

November 2021 £112.54 £84.40

December 2021 £112.54 £84.40

January 2022 £112.54 £84.40

February 2022 £112.54 £84.40

March 2022 £112.54 £84.40

April 2022 £112.54 £84.40

May 2022 £112.54 £84.40

June 2022 £112.54 £84.40

July 2022 £112.54 £84.40

August 2022 £112.54 £84.40

September 2022 £112.54 £84.40

October 2022 £112.54 £84.40

November 2022 £112.54 £84.40

Total amount: £3,311.56 £1,892.36 £1,419.20

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