Construction company director fined for deduction and non remittance of pension contributions to the Construction Workers Pension Scheme in a prosecution taken by The Pensions Board.

5th December 2011: Today, in the Dublin District Court, Judge John Paul McDonald imposed a fine of €7,000 on Michael Wallace, a director of M & J Wallace Ltd (In Receivership) in relation to the deduction and non-remittance of employee pension contributions within the statutory period. Legal costs of €450 were also awarded to The Pensions Board.

Michael Wallace, a director of M & J Wallace Ltd. (In Receivership) pleaded guilty to five offences relating to the following months: January 2008, February 2008, March 2008, April 2008, and May 2008. The company had deducted pension contributions from the wages and salaries of its employees for remittance to the trustees of the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS) but had failed to remit the contributions to the trustee within the statutory time frame. These offences were committed with the consent, connivance, or were attributable to the neglect on the part of Michael Wallace, a director of M & J Wallace Ltd. (In Receivership). This meant that employees working for that company were not covered for pension benefits, sick pay benefits or death in service benefits for those months.

The Pensions Board supervises occupational pension schemes and monitors employers’ compliance with the legislation relating to the collection and remittance of pension contributions.

Commenting on the conviction in this case, the Chief Executive of The Pensions Board, Mr. Brendan Kennedy, said, “This conviction should act as a warning to all employers and company directors that The Pensions Board treats the failure of the employer to remit pension contributions to the trustees of the pension scheme as a very serious offence. We advise any employer with outstanding pension contributions to immediately contact the pension scheme to regularise their position.”