A1 Timber Frame Limited v The Pensions Regulator

The appeal is STRUCK OUT.

The Regulator applies for the appeal to be struck out under rule 8(2)(a) of the Tribunal Procedure (First Tier) (General Regulatory Chamber) Rules 2009 on the basis that the tribunal has no jurisdiction in relation to the proceedings.

The employer was ordered to provide a response to the strike out application is by 15 September 2025. No response has been received.

The Regulator submits that the tribunal has no jurisdiction because the conditions in section 44(2) of the Pensions Act 2008 are not satisfied because no review of the fixed penalty notice or the escalating penalty notice has been carried out. The fixed penalty notice is dated 1 March 2023 and the escalating penalty notice is dated 31 March 2023. The application for a review was submitted on 30 May 2023. No review was carried out because the application for a review was submitted out of time.

The employer has not provided any explanation for why the review was not submitted on time, and in particular it has not asserted that the notices were not properly issued, served on the correct address and received by the employer. That is not the basis for the appeal.

Where there is no dispute that the notices were received, and no review has been conducted, the tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal from the Regulator’s decision under section 44(2) of the Pensions Act 2008.

It is not appropriate to consider transfer to another court.

On that basis I conclude that the tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the appeal and I strike out the appeal under rule 8(2)(a).