Section 54: Inducements
Section 54 introduces a prohibition on employers attempting to induce their workers to opt out from, or cease membership of, a qualifying workplace pension scheme and gives the Pensions Regulator the power to take compliance action against a contravention. An employer contravenes this prohibition if they take any action for the sole or main purpose of inducing a worker or jobholder to give up membership of a relevant scheme, without becoming an active member of another relevant scheme within the prescribed period under section 2(3).
The Regulator may issue a compliance notice under section 35 if it believes that the employer has contravened section 54.
A compliance notice cannot be issued unless the contravention occurred within a prescribed period before (i) a complaint to the Regulator was made about the contravention of the provision or (ii) the time when the Regulator informed the employer of an investigation of a contravention.
