The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) has upheld a complaint against Campbell Meyer & Co Limited for failing to pay contributions into a worker’s pension due to maladministration.

The group was ordered to pay £6,250 into the scheme, as well as ensure that the complainant, Mr N, was not financially disadvantaged by its maladministration by arranging for any investment loss to be calculated and paid into the scheme.

The employer was also ordered to pay Mr N £1,000 for the “serious” distress and inconvenience it caused him.

Mr N complained that the employer, despite deducting contributions from his pay, failed to pay them into the scheme.

TPO asked the employer for its formal response to Mr N’s complaint on 4 October 2023 which was repeated on 26 October.

On 26 October, the employer responded to the request and said that Mr N was enrolled with Nest upon starting his employment and subsequently withdrew and opted out.

The employer said that during Mr N’s three years of employment, he did not raise the subject of his personal pension.

It added that Mr N took the company to an employment tribunal where he was awarded a full and final settlement, of £28,182, which included reference to pension matters.

Mr N confirmed there was an employment tribunal but said that the awarded amount did not include his complaint about his pension entitlement, and later provided evidence of this in the employment tribunal notes.

On 22 November 2023, TPO contacted the employer to inform it that no decision was made relating to the pension contributions in the employment tribunal notes and requested that the employer provide a copy of the tribunal’s decision.

The employer responded to TPO on the same day but did not provide any further evidence and suggested that TPO should obtain the requested information elsewhere.

The case was then passed on to the adjudicator who said he had no reason to doubt the information provided by Mr N, so in his opinion, on the balance of probabilities, employer contributions had not been paid into the plan.

The adjudicator argued that as a result of this maladministration, Mr N was not in the financial position he ought to be in.

The employer responded to the adjudicator's decision on 27 August 2024 and agreed that £6,250 of employer contributions had not been paid into Mr N’s pension but said Mr N did not provide details of the scheme to make the relevant payments.

The adjudicator responded to these comments and said although Mr N could have raised the issue with the employer sooner, he had complained within TPO’s three-year time limit.

The employer did not accept the adjudicator’s opinion, and the complaint was passed over to the deputy ombudsman, Anthony Arter, who agreed with the adjudicator's opinion.

In his decision, Arter stated: “The employer has not provided any evidence to show that Mr N had opted out of receiving employer pension contributions. Nor has the employer shown that this matter was adequately addressed at an employment tribunal.

“Mr N has provided evidence to show that an agreement was made with the employer or it to pay employer pension contributions into the plan.

“These contributions have not been paid and so the employer is in breach of its responsibilities under the Pensions Act 2008.

“I find that the relevant employee contributions were not deducted and that employer contributions were held back by the employer and not paid into the plan.

“The employer failed to rectify this and when asked for further details of the employment tribunal it refused to provide this information which unduly delayed my office’s investigation into this matter.

“The employer’s failure to pay employer contributions into the plan amounts to unjust enrichment and has caused Mr N to suffer a financial loss. The employer shall take remedial action to put this right.”

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