The Pensions Regulator has prosecuted a Derby based business, the Directors and senior staff for offences under the Computer Misuse Act. The seven individuals all worked together to opt workers out of the NEST pension scheme, thus depriving workers of the recruitment agency of pension scheme membership.
Derby Crown Court, Judge Nirmal Shant QC told the defendants their “co-ordinated effort” had been an “attempt to steal a march” on their competitors and that “This amounted to a deliberate subversion of the automatic enrolment process. It was a deliberate attack on the integrity of the electronic systems of NEST.”
Such was the severity of the offences, that the company was fined £200,000 plus nearly £61,000 in costs. In addition, individuals were sentenced to prison sentences (suspended), community service, overnight curfews and costs.
Further information avaialable here.
