Nest · CAS-101049-J9Y1

CAS-101049-J9Y1

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Mr E

Scheme NEST (the Scheme)

Respondent Cru Construction (Services) Ltd (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties

In August 2013, Mr E’s employment was transferred to the Employer under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006 (TUPE), and he began working for the Employer.

In December 2020, Mr E was enrolled into the Scheme.

Between July 2022 and August 2024, the Employer failed to pay pension contributions into the Scheme.

On 11 July 2022, the Scheme administrator sent Mr E a letter which reported the Employer to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) for unpaid contributions between 18

1 CAS-101049-J9Y1 March 2022 and 24 March 2022, which were due to be paid into the Scheme on 9 April 2022.

On 6 October 2022, the Scheme administrator sent Mr E a further letter as it had reported the Employer to TPR for non-payment of pension contributions between 13 June 2022 and 19 June 2022, which were due to be paid into the Scheme on 5 July 2022. Mr E says he received over 90 further notification letters from the Scheme administrator which confirmed that contributions were unpaid.

On 9 January 2023, Mr E complained to the Employer.

On 8 February 2023, Mr E complained to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Mr E provided copies of the payslips that he held for the period from July 2022 to August 2024, which detailed the pension contributions deducted from his pay and the corresponding employer contributions. These deductions amounted to £2,954.70.

Mr E was unable to provide copies of payslips for the entire period and some of the payslips provided did not include a figure for the employer pension contributions. A breakdown of the deductions from the information provided on the payslips has been included in Appendix One.

On 21 November 2023, TPO telephoned the Employer for an update. The Employer explained that it was having difficulties contacting the Scheme administrator, but it had started repaying contributions on the system. The Employer also informed TPO that it was dealing with court proceedings for one of its clients which was taking up a lot of its time.

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Adjudicator’s Opinion Mr E’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:-

• Having reviewed the available evidence, it was the Adjudicator’s opinion that not all contributions had been paid into the Scheme. The Employer’s accountant confirmed that £4,967.24 in contributions were due to Mr E’s Scheme account and

4 CAS-101049-J9Y1 the Employer provided no further evidence to dispute this position. So, in the Adjudicator’s opinion an error had occurred, and the Employer was responsible.

• The Adjudicator said that he had no reason to doubt the information provided by Mr E or the information provided by the Employer’s accountant. He confirmed that this was consistent with the payslips provided by Mr E as well as the letters from the Scheme administrator. The Adjudicator also said that although the Employer initially engaged with TPO and reached the October Agreement with Mr E to pay the outstanding contributions, this was not adhered to.

• So, in the Adjudicator’s Opinion, contributions had been deducted from Mr E’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, Mr E was not in the financial position he ought to be in.

• In the Adjudicator’s view, Mr E 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

I find that the Employer has acted in breach of the Scheme Rules by not paying the contributions due between July 2022 and August 2024. The Employer’s failure to pay all employee and employer contributions into the Scheme amounts to unjust enrichment and has caused Mr E to suffer a financial loss. This amounts to maladministration. The Employer shall take remedial action to put this right.

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Directions

(i) pay Mr E £1,000 for the serious distress and inconvenience he has experienced;

(ii) £4,967.24 Mr E’s Mr E

;

(iii) establish with the Scheme administrator whether the late payment of contributions has meant that fewer units were purchased in Mr E’s Scheme account than he 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.

Camilla Barry

Deputy Pensions Ombudsman 4 June 2025

6 CAS-101049-J9Y1 Appendix One

Date Employee Employer Gross Salary Payment contributions contributions status

02/07/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

09/07/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

16/07/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Paid

23/07/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

30/07/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

06/08/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

13/08/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

20/08/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

27/08/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

03/09/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

10/09/2022 £23.22 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

17/09/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

24/09/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

01/10/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

08/10/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

15/10/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

22/10/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

29/10/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

05/11/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

12/11/2022 No Payslip provided

19/11/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

26/11/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

03/12/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

10/12/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

7 CAS-101049-J9Y1 17/12/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

24/12/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

31/12/2022 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

07/01/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

14/01/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

21/01/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

28/01/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

04/02/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

11/02/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

18/02/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

25/02/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

04/03/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

11/03/2023 No payslip provided

18/03/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

25/03/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

01/04/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

08/04/2023 No payslip provided

15/04/2023 No payslip provided

22/04/2023 No payslip provided

29/04/2023 No payslip provided

06/05/2023 No payslip provided

13/05/2023 No payslip provided

20/05/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

27/05/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

03/06/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

10/06/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

17/06/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

8 CAS-101049-J9Y1 24/06/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

01/07/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

08/07/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

15/07/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

22/07/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

29/07/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

05/08/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

12/08/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

19/08/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

26/08/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

02/09/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

09/09/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

16/09/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

23/09/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

30/09/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

07/10/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

14/10/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

21/10/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Paid

28/10/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

04/11/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

11/11/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

18/11/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

25/11/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

02/12/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

09/12/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

16/12/2023 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

23/12/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

9 CAS-101049-J9Y1 30/12/2023 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

06/01/2024 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

13/01/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

20/01/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

27/01/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

03/02/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

10/02/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

17/02/2024 £23.28 £17.46 £702.00 Unpaid

24/02/2024 No payslip provided

02/03/2024 No payslip provided

09/03/2024 No payslip provided

16/03/2024 No payslip provided

23/03/2024 No payslip provided

30/03/2024 No payslip provided

06/04/2024 No payslip provided

13/04/2024 No payslip provided

20/04/2024 No payslip provided

27/04/2024 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

04/05/2024 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

11/05/2024 £23.28 £702.00 Unpaid

18/05/2024 £27.18 £799.50 Unpaid

25/05/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

01/06/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

08/06/2024 No Payslip Provided

15/06/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

22/06/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

29/06/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

10 CAS-101049-J9Y1 06/07/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

13/07/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

20/07/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

27/07/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

03/08/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

10/08/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

17/08/2024 £25.23 £750.75 Unpaid

24/08/2024 No Payslip Provided

31/08/2024 No Payslip Provided

Total Unpaid £2,169.00 £785.70 £2,954.70 contributions

11 CAS-101049-J9Y1 Appendix Two Rule 7.1.1

Where in respect of a member a participating employer has elected to use the Scheme to:

(a) fulfil its duties under:(i) in relation to Great Britain, section 2(1) (by virtue of section), 3(2), 5(2) or 7(3) of the 2008 Act; or(ii) in relation to Northern Ireland, section 2(1) (by virtue of section), 3(2), 5(2) or 7(3) of the 2008 NI Act), or

(b) arrange for a worker to become a member of the Scheme within article 19(2A) of the Order,

from the date that admission to membership or the making of contribution arrangements in relation to that member takes effect, the participating employer shall pay and the Trustee shall accept such contributions as may be required in order for the Scheme to meet the quality requirement referred to in Part 1 of the 2008 Act (Part 1 of the 2008 NI Act), or the alternative requirement referred to in Part 1 of the 2008 Act (or Part 1 of the 2008 NI Act), in relation to the member, having regard to the contributions being paid by the member under rule 9.1.

Section 20 Pensions Act 2008

20 Quality requirement: UK money purchase schemes

(1) A money purchase scheme that has its main administration in the United Kingdom satisfies the quality requirement in relation to a jobholder if under the scheme—

(a) the jobholder's employer must pay contributions in respect of the jobholder;

(b) the employer's contribution, however calculated, must be equal to or more than 3% of the amount of the jobholder's qualifying earnings in the relevant pay reference period;

(c) the total amount of contributions paid by the jobholder and the employer, however calculated, must be equal to or more than 8% of the amount of the jobholder's qualifying earnings in the relevant pay reference period.

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