Mortons Rolls Warning - How Employees Can Check Whether Their Pension Contributions Are Really Being Paid

5th December 2025

Mortons Rolls workers receive £1m payout two years after company collapse - The bakers announced it had collapsed in 2023, but the factory was saved days later following a takeover deal.

However it came to light that the employer had not paid over some of the employee pension contributions despite deductions showing on payslips.

How Employees Can Check Whether Their Pension Contributions Are Really Being Paid

If an employer deducts pension contributions from your pay but fails to send them to the pension provider, it is a serious breach of trust and law. Luckily, there are several ways you can check what's happening — and catch a problem early.

Below is a step-by-step, employee-friendly checklist.

1. Check your payslip every month

Your payslip should show:

Your pension contribution

Your employer's contribution

The name of the pension scheme/provider

If these deductions don't appear, or suddenly stop, that's a red flag.

BUT: a payslip alone does not prove the money has been sent to the pension provider — only that it has been deducted.

[b]2. Log in to your pension provider's online portal

This is the single most reliable method.

Almost all auto-enrolment pension providers (Nest, The People’s Pension, Aviva, Scottish Widows, Aegon, Royal London, etc.) offer online accounts showing:

Each contribution received

The date it was received

Whether the employer contribution has landed too

If deductions are showing on your payslip but not appearing on your pension account, this is a warning sign.

Tip: Contributions usually take 4-8 weeks to show, depending on payroll cycles. But anything beyond that should be queried.

3. Call the pension provider directly

You can ring the provider’s customer service team and ask:

"Can you confirm the last employer contribution you received for my account, and for what pay period?"

They can tell you exactly:

When the last payment came in

Whether contributions are missing

Whether your employer’s account is in arrears

You do not need employer permission to ask.

4. Ask your employer’s payroll/HR for a contribution schedule

You can request, in writing:

"Please provide the schedule of pension contributions you have submitted to the pension provider for the last six months."

Most reputable employers will provide it without fuss.

If they delay, refuse, or give unclear answers — that is a major red flag.

5. If something looks wrong: contact The Pensions Regulator (TPR)

The Pensions Regulator takes non-payment of contributions extremely seriously.

You can report concerns confidentially here:
→ Search: "Report concerns about workplace pension TPR"

You should report if:

Contributions aren’t showing in your pension account

Payroll refuses to answer questions

Your employer is in financial trouble

You believe deductions have been taken but not passed on

TPR can investigate, demand repayment, issue fines, and even pursue criminal action in serious cases.

6. If your employer goes into administration

If contributions were deducted but never paid, you may be able to recover some or all missing amounts through:

The Redundancy Payments Service (for unpaid employer contributions close to insolvency)

The pension provider (if payments were submitted but not cleared)

The administrator (if the money is still in the employer’s bank account)

But recovery isn’t guaranteed — which is why early checking is essential.

How often should you check?

Most experts recommend:

Every few months as a routine habit

Immediately if:

Your employer is struggling financially

You hear rumours about cashflow problems

Contributions suddenly stop or look lower than normal

Why this matters

Cases like Morton’s Rolls show how vulnerable employees can be when employers:

Deduct contributions from pay

Use the cash for other purposes

Fail to pass it to the pension provider

Collapse, leaving staff short-changed

Employees often only discover the missing contributions years later, by which time recovery is much harder.

Regular checking is the best protection.

[url=https://news.stv.tv/west-central/mortons-rolls-workers-receive-1m-payout-two-years-after-company-collapse]Mortons Rolls workers receive £1m payout two years after company collapse[/url]