MORE than a quarter of North East businesses are facing tens of thousands of pounds in fines after a survey revealed they are completely unprepared for the Government’s Auto Enrolment pension legislation.

A survey commissioned by business advisers and accountants Clive Owen & Co in Darlington, found that on a scale of one to ten, 26 per cent of businesses scored one for being totally unprepared; more than half scored less than five and only 22 per cent scored ten for being fully prepared.

Almost a third (32 per cent) said they had no idea of the penalties they faced if they didn’t comply. Firms who fail to introduce Auto Enrolment – where staff are enrolled in a workplace pension scheme – face individual fines of up to £5,000 and company fines of up to £50,000.

Altogether 54 businesses across the North East responded to the survey, a third of which have more than 50 employees each. They ranged from marketing to manufacturing.

The survey also revealed that 15 per cent thought Auto Enrolment didn’t affect them; 40 per cent didn’t know where to go for advice on the legislation; 48 per cent still had to review their current pension scheme; 32 per cent didn’t know how much they had to contribute as an employer

Clive Owen, which has offices in Darlington, Durham and York, has recently expanded its payroll services team to help clients with the new legislation. The team is led by senior payroll services manager, Angela Cammock, who has been working with HMRC to compile a best practice document relating to Real Time Information (RTI) and is also a member of the global accountancy network, Kreston International’s UK auto enrolment implementation team.

She was very concerned that more than a quarter of businesses in the region feel totally unprepared for Auto Enrolment.

"The legislation is being phased in gradually but even so it is entirely up to employers to ensure they are up to date with the legislation - and they face some very significant fines if they don’t comply," she said.