Agenda item

The Employer Funding & Risk Lead will update the Committee on employer related activities.

Matt Allen, Employer Funding & Risk Lead presented an update on employer related activities. The update included that there had been developments in the following five areas:

1.    Employer Scorecards – the aim was to produce a way to track employer performance against their responsibilities and obligations. Work was progressing well, and a draft report had been produced and was now under review, with the aim for employers to receive their scorecard each quarter. It was outlined that unfortunately the officer leading on this area was on sick leave therefore there would be a slight delay to the work.

2.    Employer Compliance (Data Sharing Agreements – DSAs) – These would allow the Fund to share membership data with third party payroll providers or an outsourced HR provision. As of 15th January 2024, 78% of the these had been completed and were held by the Fund. Of the remaining 22%, 3% were in progress and 19% were awaiting a response.

3.    Employer Review (Internal Working Practices) – Since Matt Allen came into post, reviews had taken place to consider how the current processes and practices could be improved. A new employer database had been created which was a single point of contact resource which contains all contractor information, where previously this had been difficult to access. Work regarding admission agreements was outlined and how new admission agreements would now be tracked via Eversheds Sutherland to enable to quicker turn around compared to previously. The TUPE Tracker and Cessation Tracker had also been overhauled to enable the Fund to track an employer from start to finish.

4.    Employer Forum – On 16 November 2023, the Fund held its first face to face Employer Forum, which 30 employers attended. There was an intention to hold more in 2024 in Trowbridge, Swindon, and Salisbury. This work had however been paused due to the lead officer being on sick leave.

5.    Employer Changes – An overview of employer changes was provided with reference drawn to the report for a detailed outline of the changes involving Imperial Cleaning Services Ltd, Aster, The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Diocese of Bristol MAT (DBAT).

The Committee discussed the report with it suggested that some of the cases outlined must produce a disproportionate amount of work, to which it was clarified that there was not a policy for writing stuff off and that a pragmatic and fair approach was taken to each employer change. It was clarified that the cost to establish the final position of employer changes varied and that the costs were included within the charging policy.

A question was raised regarding the ability for companies to go into administration and then set up another company and how likely it would be for the new company to be admitted into the scheme if they had the same directors. The officer provided assurance that it was his role to protect the Fund and that if there was enough security in place such a company could be admitted and that it would be the employers position to accept the risk.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

The Committee agreed to note the report and to seek from Officers such clarifications or further information as they require.