The Pensions Regulator

Code of practice 02
Notifiable events

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Failure to notify

Trustees

27. Trustees must take all reasonable steps to comply with the notifiable events duty. This is interpreted as whether, in the event of failure to notify when a scheme-related notifiable event has occurred, an objective person would consider that a trustee nevertheless took all the steps it would be reasonable to expect them to take in order to comply.

Employers

28. Employers must comply with the duty to notify unless they have a reasonable excuse for not doing so. This is interpreted as whether, when an employer-related notifiable event has occurred, an objective person would consider that there was nonetheless a reasonable basis for the failure by the employer to notify.
29. In practice this means that trustees and employers should:
    • be aware of the notifiable events including those which all trustees and employers must notify;
    • know whether the scheme of which they are trustee or employer is required to notify all the events, ie is not within the exceptions; and
    • have a procedure which enables identification and notification to occur.
30. In the event of failure to notify, the Pensions Regulator will seek an explanation. Following this, it will have a range of actions it can take including requiring training or other assistance. Where appropriate, however, civil penalties can be imposed.
31. Failure to notify of itself will not lead to any transaction being unwound by the Pensions Regulator. However a court or tribunal may consider failure to notify if it considers it relevant; the Pensions Regulator will have regard to failure to notify any relevant event when deciding whether it is reasonable to issue a contribution notice¹¹.
32. If another party (such as a scheme actuary or an independent financial adviser), who is subject to the duty to report breaches of the law to the Pensions Regulator, becomes aware of a failure by trustees or an employer to notify, that party should report the failure as a breach of pensions legislation likely to be of material significance to the Pensions Regulator¹².

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