The auto-enrolment pension scheme assessment is run as part of the Calculate Payroll background job. You can initiate this job in Payroll > Overview by clicking Calculate in the Process Job drop-down list.
Note: The Calculate Payroll background job runs automatically when you click Commit in the Process Job drop-down list. You can also run the job in System Admin > Background Jobs.
When the Calculate Payroll background job runs during each pay run, it assesses any pay groups linked to earning and deduction definitions configured for your enrolled pension scheme as part of your payroll process. The background job assesses new employees, reassesses existing employees who might not have qualified in the past, and performs the following tasks:
- Implements employee and employer contribution percentages.
- Creates deferral records for employees with a deferral.
- Generates pension records for all other employees.
You can run the Calculate Payroll background job as many times as you need to before a pay period has been committed. Each time you run the assessment, the previous results are cleared, and Dayforce uses the most recent data to generate new results.
Important: When payroll corrections are made for a previous pay run, you need to assess and adjust employees' qualification in the pension scheme manually. For example, an employee was overpaid in pay period 1, which qualified the employee for auto-enrolment. When the correction is made to deduct those earnings from the employee in pay period 2, the administrator must determine whether the employee qualified for auto-enrolment and, if not, adjust the pension records and remove pension payroll elections.
Except for new hires, Dayforce prevents eligible jobholders from entering a postponement state immediately after a deferral period. If your organization has transitioned from a pension workflow that defers assessment to one that uses enrolment postponement, the background job checks existing deferred employees who would otherwise enter postponement at the end of their deferral period. These employees are assessed with the following results:
- If they qualify as eligible jobholders, the employees are automatically enrolled when the deferral ends.
- Non-qualified employees are assigned one of the following when the deferral ends: “entitled worker category and inactive member status” or “non-eligible jobholder category and inactive member status”.
You can see the pension records of all employees in Pensions > Administration. To manage pension records for individual employees, go to the Payroll > Pension screen of the People feature.
Contribution Percentages
Dayforce checks the following, in this order, before implementing the employee and employer contribution percentages:
- The EE Contribution % and ER Contribution % in the Payroll > Pension screen of People. If the fields are populated, the values are used in the pension calculation.
- If the contribution fields in the Payroll > Pension screen in People aren't populated, Dayforce checks the employee and employer contribution fields in the Apply UK Pension Auto Enrolment rule.
- If the contribution fields in the Apply UK Pension Auto Enrolment rule aren't populated, Dayforce uses the default contribution values in Benefits Setup > Plans and Options.
Deferral Records
When a deferral has been applied to an employee, a deferral record is created for the employee with the appropriate deferral date.
For employees who don’t have a deferral applied, the job looks at an employee’s age, earnings, and hire date, and using this information, assesses which worker category and member status the employee falls into. The worker categories are as follows:
- Eligible Jobholder
- Non-eligible Jobholder
- Entitled Worker
- Deferred
The member statuses are as follows:
- Auto-Enrol
- Inactive
- Opt-In
- Opt-Out
- Postponed
Worker Categories
Employees can fall into the following worker categories that exclude them from assessment:
- No Employer Duty: Assign this worker category (and status) to temporary or contract employees who aren't eligible for the pension scheme.
- Other Qualified Scheme: Assign this worker category to employees who are enrolled in another qualified pension scheme.
You must create pension records for these worker categories manually or import them. The job only assesses employees in these categories when an opt-in notification record has been created for them.
The following table outlines what action Dayforce takes depending on which worker category the assessment assigns to a worker.
|
Worker Category |
Current Member Status |
New Member Status |
|---|---|---|
|
Eligible Jobholder |
|
Auto-Enrol |
|
Eligible Jobholder |
Opt-Out |
Opt-Out |
|
Eligible Jobholder |
Cease Membership |
Cease Membership |
|
Non-eligible Jobholder |
|
Inactive |
|
Non-eligible Jobholder |
Opt-In |
Auto-Enrol |
|
Non-eligible Jobholder |
Opt-Out |
Opt-Out |
|
Non-eligible Jobholder |
Cease Membership |
Cease Membership |
|
Entitled Worker |
|
Inactive |
|
Other Qualified Scheme |
Inactive |
Inactive |
|
Other Qualified Scheme |
Inactive with an Opt-In notification record |
If the worker category is assessed as Eligible or Non-eligible Jobholder, status is Opt-In If the worker category is assessed as Entitled Worker, status is Inactive |
|
No Employer Duty |
No Employer Duty |
No Employer Duty |
|
No Employer Duty |
No Employer Duty with an Opt-In notification record |
If the worker category is assessed as Eligible or Non-eligible Jobholder, status is Opt-In If the worker category is assessed as Entitled Worker, status is Inactive |
Employees who have an Opt-Out or Cease Membership status aren't assessed again for three years.