The Pension Regulator has confirmed a recent government announcement offering more flexibility on the "staging dates" for auto enrolment.

Despite the extra leeway the Government has renewed its commitment to workplace pensions reform and the implementation of automatic enrolment, says the Pensions Regulator.

Automatic enrolment for employers will still be introduced in stages for all UK employers, starting with the largest employers in October 2012. The date the requirements of the new pensions law applies to an employer is known as their 'staging date'.

Staging dates for the largest employers who are part of PAYE schemes with 3000 or more workers are unchanged. These employers will still have a staging date between October 2012 and July 2013.

However, the Government has announced a delay to staging dates on which automatic enrolment will be legally required for the UK's small employers. The actual staging dates for these small employers will be confirmed in the New Year.

The Pensions Regulator says that large employers with 3000 or more workers can check their staging date on the Pensions Regulator website from today. For all other employers who are part of PAYE scheme of 2999 workers or less, the regulator will publish new staging dates on its website early in 2012, when these dates have been confirmed by the Government.

The revised staging dates will be published alongside extensive guidance for employers of all sizes.