Bce · CAS-82508-D5V3

CAS-82508-D5V3

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Miss N

Scheme B&CE (the Scheme)

Respondent Hedone Bakery (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties

In July 2018, Miss N began her employment with the Employer.

Between November 2018 and February 2020, the Employer failed to pay pension contributions into the Scheme.

On 4 January 2022, Miss N brought her complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Miss N provided copies of the payslips that she held for the period from November 2018 to February 2020, which detailed the pension contributions deducted from her pay and the corresponding employer contributions. These deductions amounted to £2,083.84. A breakdown of the deductions has been included in the Appendix. 1 CAS-82508-D5V3

Caseworker’s Opinion

• The Caseworker 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 Miss N.

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

• In the Caseworker’s view, Miss N had suffered serious distress and inconvenience due to the Employer’s maladministration. The Caseworker was of the opinion that an award of £1,000 for non-financial injustice was appropriate in the circumstances.

Ombudsman’s decision

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Directions

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

(ii) Miss N’s Miss N

;

(iii) establish with the Scheme administrator whether the late payment of contributions has meant that fewer units were purchased in Miss N’s Scheme account than she 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

29 April 2024

3 CAS-82508-D5V3 Appendix Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

09/11/2018 £25.35 £16.90

16/11/2018 £25.35 £16.90

07/12/2018 £25.35 £16.90

21/12/2018 £25.35 £16.90

04/01/2019 £25.35 £16.90

18/01/2019 £25.35 £16.90

12/04/2019 £49.74 £29.84

26/04/2019 £49.74 £29.84

10/05/2019 £49.74 £29.84

20/05/2019 £49.74 £29.84

03/06/2019 £49.74 £29.84

17/06/2019 £49.74 £29.84

01/07/2019 £49.74 £29.84

15/07/2019 £49.74 £29.84

29/07/2019 £49.74 £29.84

12/08/2019 £49.74 £29.84

26/08/2019 £49.74 £29.84

09/09/2019 £49.74 £29.84

23/09/2019 £49.74 £29.84

07/10/2019 £49.74 £29.84

21/10/2019 £49.74 £29.84

04/11/2019 £49.74 £29.84

18/11/2019 £49.74 £29.84

02/12/2019 £49.74 £29.84

16/12/2019 £49.74 £29.84

4 CAS-82508-D5V3 30/12/2019 £49.74 £29.84

13/01/2020 £49.74 £29.84

27/01/2020 £49.74 £29.84

10/02/2020 £49.74 £29.84

Total amount £2,083.84 £1,296.12 £787.72

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