Smart Pension Master Trust · CAS-82151-R1M1

CAS-82151-R1M1

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Miss N

Scheme The Smart Pension Master Trust (the Scheme)

Respondent Made In London Clothing Ltd (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties In July 2020, Miss N began her employment with the Employer.

In December 2020, the Employer stopped paying pensions contributions into the Scheme.

On 15 June 2021, Miss N received an email from the Scheme administrator which said contributions had not been paid and it had reported the Employer to The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

In June 2021, Miss N emailed the Employer and raised the issue of the outstanding pension contributions.

Later that day, she spoke to the Employer who said all contributions would be paid by November 2021 at the latest. This was the last Miss N heard from the Employer.

From 14 July 2021 to 12 October 2021, Miss N received emails from the Scheme administrator which advised her of further unpaid contributions.

1 CAS-82151-R1M1 In October 2021, Miss N left employment with the Employer.

On 15 December 2021, Miss N emailed the Employer about the unpaid pension contributions.

On 16 December 2021, Miss N submitted an application to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Miss N provided copies of payslips from March 2021 and October 2021, which detailed the pension contributions deducted from her pay and the corresponding year to date employer contributions. She also provided a screenshot showing contributions owed to the Scheme. A breakdown of the deductions has been included in the Appendix.

Miss N was unable to provide payslips that covered the entirety of the period where contributions were not remitted to the Scheme.

Caseworker’s Opinion

• The Caseworker 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. He said that, as the Employer had not responded to any of TPO’s communications, he had to base his Opinion solely on the information provided by Miss N.

• The Caseworker said that he had no reason to doubt the information provided by Miss N. So, in the Caseworker’s Opinion, on the balance of probabilities, contributions had been deducted from Miss N’s salary, that 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, Miss N was not in the financial position she ought to be in.

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

2 CAS-82151-R1M1 Ombudsman’s decision

Directions

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

(ii) produce a schedule (the Schedule) showing the employee contributions deducted from Miss N’s pay in respect of the period of her employment. The Schedule shall also include the corresponding employer contributions that were due to the Scheme; and

(iii) forward the Schedule to Miss N.

(i) pay the missing contributions to the Scheme;

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

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

3 CAS-82151-R1M1 Within 14 days of receiving confirmation from the Scheme administrator of any shortfall in Miss N’s units, pay the cost of purchasing any additional units required to make up the shortfall.

Anthony Arter

Pensions Ombudsman 15 November 2022

4 CAS-82151-R1M1 Appendix Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

31 March 2021 £56.95

£444.10 (Year to date) £266.48 (Year to date)

21 October 2021 £4.24

£361.91 (Year to date) £217.17 (Year to date)

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