Auto Enrolment Staging Dates

Staging Dates

This new Government legalisation has already started. Make sure you act now to avoid massive daily fines.

When do the staging dates affect you?


To help businesses prepare for the changes associated with Auto Enrolment the process is being introduced in stages. The end date for all employers to have employees auto enrolled into a qualifying pension scheme is September 2016.


Your staging date is determined by your Payroll run of April 2012. This date is fixed.


Employee Count or PAYE No. Staging date
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers I1-I9, IA-IZ 1 May 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 17-22, 4A-4Z, J1-J9, JA-JZ 1 June 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 23-29, 5A-5Z, K1-K9, KA-KZ 1 July 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 30-37, 6A-6Z, L1-L9, LA-LZ 1 August 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers N1-N9, NA-NZ 1 September 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 38-46, 7A-7Z, O1-O9, OA-OZ 1 October 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 47-57, 8A-8Z, Q1-Q9, R1-R9, S1-S9, T1-T9, QA-QZ, RA-RZ, SA-SZ, TA-TZ 1 November 2016
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 58-69, 9A-9Z, U1-U9, V1-V9, W1-W9, UA-UZ, VA-VZ, WA-WZ 1 January 2017
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 70-83, X1-X9, Y1-Y9, XA-XZ, YA-YZ 1 February 2017
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers P1-P9, PA-PZ 1 March 2017
Employer who does not have a PAYE scheme 1 April 2017
Companies with fewer than null employees unless otherwise described 1 April 2017
Companies with fewer than 30 employees, with the last 2 characters in their PAYE reference numbers 84-91, 93-99 1 April 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 April 2012 and 31 March 2013) 1 May 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 April 2013 and 31 March 2014) 1 July 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 April 2014 and 31 March 2015) 1 August 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 April 2015 and 31 December 2015) 1 October 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 January 2016 and 30 September 2016) 1 November 2017
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 October 2016 and 30 June 2017) 1 January 2018
New employer (PAYE income first payable between 01 July 2017 and 30 September 2017) 1 February 2018

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What will it cost?

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What if I do nothing or miss my date? You may have to pay heavy fines!

It is essential that Auto Enrolment is taken on board fully and appropriately as failure to comply will mean employers face the potential following consequences:

A "Wake up call" fine of £400
Persistent offenders will have escalating fines
50-249 employees up to £2,500 per day
250- 499 employees up £5,000 per day
5-49 employees up to £500 per day

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