Late payment, or non-payment, of employees’ contributions deducted from payrolls is a criminal offence – and there are no excuses.

Last month, a company director received a six-month prison sentence (now subject to appeal) for nine such cases, even though the company in question had become insolvent.

The 1995 Pensions Act stipulates that contributions to an occupational scheme must be handed over within 19 days of the end of the month in which they were deducted. The requirement applies to most schemes, including money-purchase, salary-related and hybrid versions. And auditors and actuaries have a legal duty to report clients who break the law.

The pensions regulator, Opra, may gain new powers under the Welfare Reform and Pensions Bill to deal with breaches of the law under civil law, so that it can fine offenders instead of having to go to court.

Opra spokesman David Cresswell says: "If you are a company director and sponsor a pension scheme, it is your responsibility to ensure payments are made on time, even if this task is undertaken by someone in payroll." Payroll departments must have contingency plans to ensure that the payments are kept up when members of staff normally responsible are absent.

A fuller account appeared in The Observer on Sunday 24 October, but unfortunately does not appear in the online edition.