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We estimate that around 3 per cent of eligible employees are not enrolled in a pension scheme by their employers, and have not opted-out.
Part-time and temporary workers are more twice as likely not to be in a workplace pension than their full-time and permanent counterparts, and more than one-tenth of agency workers have not been auto-enrolled. Likewise, non-enrolment is more prevalent in lower-paying sectors where other labour market violations are often found.
We estimate that between 1.6 per cent and 1.7 per cent of workers who were enrolled in a workplace pension were not receiving the appropriate level of employer contributions in 2019. Again, contingent workers are disproportionately affected, while workers in the hospitality and administration sectors are among the most likely to receive less than the minimum contribution rate.
Women, temporary workers, and those working in micro-businesses are most likely to be ineligible for auto-enrolment. Future plans to extend eligibility to younger and lower-paid workers, although welcome, will bring into scope more of those workers who are at the highest risk of being short-changed.

While it could require more resource, we recommend that TPR should shift to undertake more proactive enforcement of the auto-enrolment rules.
Ongoing enforcement activity should focus on the types of businesses and workers identified as most vulnerable to enforcement challenges: sectors such as agriculture and hospitality, contingent workers, and the smallest businesses, for example.
Employers that are investigated for another form of labour market violation, such as minimum wage underpayment, should be prioritised for investigation for auto-enrolment non-compliance.
While it is right to continue to focus on supporting businesses to comply in the first instance, the time may have come for TPR to get tougher, quicker when anomalies are detected.