Employer prosecuted for 'unacceptable' pensions lies

An accountant is facing the possibly of an unlimited fine after lying to the Pensions Regulator (TPR) about staff pensions, according to the BBC.

Hashmukh Shah, reported that staff at Gran Caffe Londra in London had a pension scheme to avoid an inspection, despite their being no such scheme in place. However, an investigation was triggered after the company missed its deadline to automatically enrol staff into a pension in October 2015.

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Shah lied to the investigators, telling them the firm has met its obligations. However, he later admitted his deception and the company complied in March this year and has backdated contributions.

TPR Director Darren Ryder said that Shah’s actions were inexcusable. "It is totally unacceptable for an accountant or any other professional to file false documents to purposely avoid meeting an employer's automatic enrolment pension duties,” he said.