Osman Marouf v The Pensions Regulator

1. Regulation 15(1) of the Employer Duties (Registration and Compliance Regulations) 2010 specifies a 28-day period after issue of a Penalty Notice for an employer to request the Pensions Regulator to review that Penalty Notice. There is no provision for the 28-day time limit to be extended. 2. The Appellant did not seek review of the Respondent's Fixed Penalty Notice dated 19 April 2024 until 7 July 2024 (79 days after its issue) and the Respondent's Escalating Penalty Notice dated 21 May 2024 until 7 July 2024 (47 days after its issue). 3. Because no request for a review was sought in time, the Respondent did not "complete" a review of the Penalty Notices; nor did the Respondent "determine not to carry out such a review". The Respondent was simply not asked to conduct a review within the required timescale. 4. Accordingly, neither of the conditions for an appeal to the Tribunal laid down in section 44(2) of the Pensions Act 2008 is met, and thus the Tribunal does not have the power to consider the appeal.