Steve Webb confirms auto-enrolment delay - UPDATED

Auto-enrolment staging dates and contribution increases for thousands of firms will be delayed or changed, the pensions minister confirms.

The changes mean businesses with between 50 and 3000 workers could see staging date changed slightly and firms with 50 or fewer workers will see staging dates delayed until the next parliamentary session.

The DWP also said it would delay the increase in employer contributions from 1% to 2% from the current date of October 2016.

It said the exact timetable following the changes would be unveiled in January 2012.

Speaking in the commons, Steve Webb said the "majority" of the workforce would be enrolled during this parliament but the reforms have been delayed for small employers (those with under 50 employees) until the next parliamentary session - due to start in 2015.

All businesses with more than 3000 employees due to be enrolled will keep their staging dates, with auto-enrolment still set to go ahead next year.

However, Webb added all other businesses with under 3000 staff remained "in scope" to auto-enrol staff - even if this meant a change in their staging date.

A Department for Work and Pensions spokeperson said firms with between 50 and 3000 employees  - due to be enrolled between July 2013 and July 2014 - will have their staging dates moved slightly to "smooth" out the transition.

Firms with less than 50 staff will now not have to auto-enrol until after May 2015.

Webb said: "Everybody who was due to be enrolled up to July 2013 will still be enrolled and we will publish a revised schedule in the New Year."

However, shadow pensions minister Gregg McClymont hit back at Webb's used of "bureaucratic" language in announcing the reforms and accused of him of changing the schedule.

"Millions upon millions will not now be auto-enrolled until after 2015," he added.

Dame Anne Begg said she was "disappointed" with the reforms and urged Webb to give more guarantee to businesses.

The change means firms with under 50 staff will have their staging date of April 2014 scrapped and moved to an unspecified date after the end of this Parliament - due to end in May 2015.

The first of the small firms with under 50 employees were to due to start enrolling in April 2014.

The first tranche of the sub-50 employee firms enrolled in April 2014 were to be joined by the rest of the sub-50 firms between 1 August 2014 and 1 February 2016. 

Firms with between 50 and 3000 employees will get new staging dates in January.

The DWP said a decision was made not to alter the dates for larger employers because their planning was at too advanced a stage.

DWP clarifies staging dates following AE delay

AE delay: The DWP statement in full