Aviva · CAS-90661-L3V4

CAS-90661-L3V4

Ombudsman’s Determination Applicant Mr Y

Scheme Aviva (the Scheme)

Respondent RDS Global Limited (the Employer)

Outcome

Complaint summary

Background information, including submissions from the parties Between February 2020 and July 2021, the Employer failed to pay pension contributions into the Scheme.

On 10 July 2022, Mr Y brought his complaint to The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO).

Mr Y provided copies of the payslips that he held for the period from April 2020 to June 2021 which detailed the pension contributions deducted from his pay and the corresponding employer contributions. A summary of the pension contributions showing on his payslips has been included in Appendix One.

In February 2023, the Employer told The Pensions Ombudsman (TPO) that it had been making payments to the Scheme and would continue to do so according to its proposed schedule. A copy of the schedule, including a breakdown of outstanding contributions has been included in Appendix Two. This was the last correspondence TPO received from the Employer.

1 CAS-90661-L3V4

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, although initially engaging with the process, the Employer had not responded to all of TPO’s communications.

• The Caseworker said that she had no reason to doubt the information provided by Mr Y and, in February 2023, the Employer agreed that contributions were unpaid. So, in the Caseworker’s Opinion, on the balance of probabilities, contributions had been deducted from Mr Y’s salary, but had not been paid into the Scheme on time. As a result of its maladministration, Mr Y was not in the financial position he ought to be in.

• In the Caseworker’s view, Mr Y had suffered significant distress and inconvenience due to the Employer’s maladministration. The Caseworker was of the opinion that an award of £500 for non-financial injustice was appropriate in the circumstances.

Ombudsman’s decision

2 CAS-90661-L3V4

Directions

(i) pay Mr Y £500 for the significant distress and inconvenience he has experienced;

(ii) produce a schedule (the Schedule) showing the employee contributions deducted from Mr Y’s pay in respect of the period of his employment. The Schedule shall also include the corresponding employer contributions that were due to the Scheme; and

(iii) forward the Schedule to Mr Y.

(i) pay any missing contributions to the Scheme;

(ii) establish with the Scheme whether the late payment of contributions has meant that fewer units were purchased in Mr Y’s Scheme account than he would have otherwise secured, had the contributions been paid on time; and

(iii) pay any reasonable administration fee should the Scheme administrator charge a fee for carrying out the above calculation.

Within 14 days of receiving confirmation from Aviva of any shortfall in Mr Y’s units, pay the cost of purchasing any additional units required to make up the shortfall.

Anthony Arter CBE

Deputy Pensions Ombudsman 24 October 2023

Appendix One 3 CAS-90661-L3V4 Date Employee contributions Employer contributions

Apr-20 £166.80 £100.08

May-20 £166.80 £100.08

Jun-20 £173.75 £104.25

Jul-20 £195.23 £117.14

Aug-20 £208.50 £125.10

Sep-20 £333.60

Oct-20 £333.60

Nov-20 £333.60

Dec-20 £333.60

Jan-21 £333.60

Feb-21 £333.60

Mar-21 £333.60

Apr-21 £386.67

May-21 £386.67

Jun-21 £386.67

Total unpaid contributions £911.08 £4,041.86

Appendix Two

4 CAS-90661-L3V4 Payroll Month Contribution amount Payment status

Nov-19 £333.60 Already Uploaded

Dec-19 £333.60 Already Uploaded

Jan-20 £333.60 Already Uploaded

Feb-20 £333.60 Already Uploaded

Mar-20 £333.60 Already Uploaded

Apr-20 £266.88 Already Uploaded

May-20 £266.88 Already Uploaded

Jun-20 £278.00 To Upload February 28th 2023

Jul-20 £312.37 To Upload March 16th 2023

Aug-20 £333.60 To Upload March 30th 2023

Sep-20 £333.60 To Upload April 16th 2023

Oct-20 £333.60 To Upload April 30th 2023

Nov-20 £333.60 To Upload May 16th 2023

Dec-20 £333.60 To Upload May 30th 2023

Jan-21 £333.60 To Upload June 16th 2023

Feb-21 £333.60 To Upload June 30th 2023

Mar-21 £333.60 To Upload July 16th 2023

Apr-21 £333.60 To Upload July 30th 2023

May-21 £333.60 To Upload August 16th 2023

Jun-21 £333.60 To Upload August 30th 2023

Total unpaid contributions £6,461.73 Aviva to Calculate Growth %

5