BMC Building and Landscapes Limited v The Pensions Regulator

Facts

The appellant, BMC Building and Landscapes Limited, was the subject of enforcement action by the Pensions Regulator in respect of its automatic enrolment duties. The Regulator issued the appellant with a compliance notice on 25 December 2025 and, following continued non-compliance, a fixed penalty notice under section 40 of the Pensions Act 2008 on 25 March 2026. The appellant requested a review of the fixed penalty notice on 28 April 2026. The Regulator declined to carry out a review because the request had been made outside the 28-day period prescribed by Regulation 15(1) of the Employers' Duties (Registration and Compliance) Regulations 2010, and also declined to review the notice on its own initiative. The appellant referred the matter to the First-tier Tribunal by a form GRC1, explaining that there had been no deliberate attempt to avoid registration: the directors had been unsure whether they needed to be enrolled and had misunderstood the process. It later lodged a Pensions: Right to Appeal form on 30 June 2026 asserting that it had never received the fixed penalty notice, that newly appointed directors had relied on their accountant's advice that no enrolment was required, and that the penalty bore heavily on a new business. The Regulator applied on 10 August 2026 for the reference to be struck out for want of jurisdiction. The appellant did not respond to directions to reply to that application, and the matter was decided without a hearing.