Nest · CAS-110660-N2T3

CAS-110660-N2T3

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Mr N

Scheme NEST (the Scheme)

Respondents RQ CAFE Limited (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties

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Adjudicator’s Opinion

• 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 Mr N.

• According to the payslips provided the total amount outstanding was £1,248.06. The Scheme administrator’s letters provided by Mr N detailed the missing employer contribution amounts for February to August 2022, which are not shown on the payslips. They also showed the employer and employee contributions due for December 2022, where there was no available payslip. It was the Adjudicator’s view, on the balance of probabilities, that £624.72 had not been paid to the Scheme for these months. In total £1,872.78 had not been remitted to the Scheme.

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

2 CAS-110660-N2T3 • In the Adjudicator’s view, Mr 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

Mr N has claimed unpaid contributions for the period February to August 2022 and November 2022 to March 2023. He has provided payslips for both of these periods except for the month of December 2022. These contributions amounted to £1,248.06.

Mr N’s payslips do not show the employer contributions for the period February to November 2022. The Scheme administrator’s letters for this period show that £442.44 in employer contributions had not been remitted to the Scheme.

The Scheme administrator’s letters also confirm that contributions for December 2022 were also not paid and amounted to £182.28. I am satisfied that, on the balance of probabilities, these contributions were also not paid into the Scheme, so a total of £1,872.78 of unpaid contributions are therefore due Mr S’ Scheme account.

3 CAS-110660-N2T3 Directions

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

(ii) £1,872.78 Mr N’s Mr N

;

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

Anthony Arter CBE Deputy Pensions Ombudsman 2 September 2024

4 CAS-110660-N2T3 Appendix Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

February 2022 £88 Not stated

March 2022 £93.60 Not stated

April 2022 £72 Not stated

May 2022 £79.20 Not stated

June 2022 £79.20 Not stated

July 2022 £90.72 Not stated

August 2022 £87.20 Not stated

November 2022 £90.72 £68.04

December 2022 (Missing)

January 2023 £99.36 £74.52

February 2023 £86.64 £64.98

March 2023 £99.36 £74.52

Total amount: £1,248.06 £966 £282.06

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