When does the duty to auto-enrol overseas workers into a pension
scheme apply?
All employers are required to automatically enrol certain
workers "working or ordinarily working" in the United
Kingdom in a suitable pension scheme. The Administrative
Court has recently had to grapple with the issue of whether
seafarers, who work on vessels which spend all, or most of
their time outside of the UK, are "ordinarily
working" in the UK and therefore qualify for automatic
enrolment. This decision will be important for all employers
who have staff who frequently work outside of the UK or who are
seconded abroad.
The UK Pensions Regulator ("the Regulator") is
responsible for enforcing the obligations of employers to
automatically enrol their eligible employees. The Regulator issued
a "compliance notice" against Fleet Maritime Services
(Bermuda) Limited, which employed the crew of P&O Cruises and
Cunard cruise ships. A compliance notice is an order for an
employer to
