Workers at Dundee construction firm McGill have been informed that payments taken from their wages have not been paid into pension schemes.
The Harrison Road business has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators with the Court of Session.
McGill Facilities Management Limited, which has 120 staff, is currently still trading.
It has emerged that workers’ pension payments are missing.
Pension provider’s letter to McGill workers
Several workers have contacted The Courier to question where their employee contributions have gone.
Funds should have been paid into pension pots maintained by The People’s Pension.
However, the workplace pension provider has informed employees that it has not received contributions since April.
It is now preparing to report McGill to The Pensions Regulator.
The letter to workers states: “Your employer must pay contributions into your pension pet each time you’re paid (if you meet certain criteria).
“These contributions are usually made up from money deducted from your wages and money from your employer.
“We’re writing to let you know that your employer has not paid contributions for you for April 2022.
“If your employer does not make payment and contributions become overdue by more than 90 days (three months) we will report them to The Pensions Regulator.”
How has McGill responded?
When approached, McGill did not respond to questions about the missing pension payments.
The business is owned by investment group United Capital, controlled by Dundee couple Graeme and Leanne Carling.
McGill Facilities Management covers the brands of McGill, Alliance Electrical and Kingdom Gas.
Its bank withdrawing support has been blamed for its “working capital” troubles.
On Thursday, the company said that weekly wages that had been due to its staff last Friday, were now paid.
A spokesperson for United Capital said: “The management team at McGill continue to work with a specialist corporate restructuring firm to find the best outcome.
“The business continues to communicate with all employees on an on-going basis, keeping them apprised of any developments during this difficult time.”
Under different ownership, McGill previously went into administration in 2019 with the loss of around 400 staff.
Pension warnings
A spokesperson for The People’s Pension said it contacts employers when it is 30, 60 and 90 days in arrears.
“When the employer is 90 days in arrears, the letter we issue explains we will be reporting them to the Pensions Regulator and notifying their employees – which we have done in this case,” the spokesperson said.
“If the company goes into administration we will then pass the case to our insolvency team.
“They will provide all the necessary information to an insolvency practitioner to ensure employees receive the overdue contributions.”
A spokesperson for The Pensions Regulator said: “We do not comment on individual pension schemes or employers unless appropriate to do so.”
More pension complaints
Talking in general terms, The Pensions Ombudsman said it is seeing an increasing number of complaints concerning pension contributions.
It highlights the importance of workers’ checking their contributions are being paid.
A spokesperson said: “If an employee thinks that contributions are missing, they should contact their employer to find out why, and when they can expect this to be corrected.
“If this does not resolve the issue, we may be able to investigate the complaint.”
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