Pension auto-enrolment for dental nurses and receptionists in 2026/27: the £10,000 trigger, 3% from the practice, and who is left out

Every dental practice that employs anyone must provide a workplace pension. GOV.UK says an employer must provide a scheme "as soon as their first member of staff starts working for them" and must enrol, and pay an employer contribution for, all staff who are aged between 22 and State Pension age, earn at least £10,000 a year and normally work in the UK. For a practice with part-time nurses and reception staff, the question is usually who sits just under that line.

The figures below are the 2026/27 ones. Trade-body summaries of the December 2025 government review say the thresholds were frozen: £10,000 for the trigger, £6,240 and £50,270 for the qualifying earnings band. We could not open the written statement itself, so check the figures on GOV.UK before you set up payroll.

The £10,000 trigger in hours

The trigger is a pay figure, not an hours figure. At the £12.71 an hour National Living Wage (see our guide to dental receptionist and nurse minimum wage from April 2026), £10,000 a year takes 786.8 hours, which is 15.1 hours a week over 52 weeks.

The minimum contributions on GOV.UK are 3% from the employer and 5% from the employee, 8% in total, worked on pay between £6,240 and £50,270 a year. The "not due" cells apply to automatic enrolment only; see the next section. In a real payroll the test is run for each pay period, not on a year's total, so a nurse who works extra weeks over Christmas can cross the line in one month and out again in the next. Your payroll software or pension provider applies the period equivalent of the £10,000 figure; do not apply the annual sum by hand.

Who is left out, and who can still join

A 12-hour or 15-hour member of staff is not automatically enrolled on these figures, and nor is anyone under 22. GOV.UK says that staff outside the automatic rules "can usually still join their pension if you want to" and that "Your employer cannot refuse." So a 15-hour receptionist who asks to join must be let in; what the practice owes in contribution for that person is not set out on the page we read, so ask your pension provider or check with The Pensions Regulator before you promise a figure.

The practical point is to keep a record. When a person's hours change, the earnings that count change, and a person who is under the line in January may be over it by March. GOV.UK says staff who become eligible because of age or earnings must be enrolled, and told in writing, within 6 weeks of the day they meet the criteria. Postponement is possible for up to 3 months in some cases; the page notes the employer "must let you join in the meantime if you ask to."

The cost for a five-person team

Take two full-time nurses on 37.5 hours, a receptionist on 20 hours, another on 16 hours and a 12-hour cleaner, all at £12.71. The cleaner is below the trigger. The other four are in. The employer's 3% comes to:

• two nurses: £556.34 each, £1,112.68
• the 20-hour receptionist: £209.35
• the 16-hour receptionist: £130.04

The total is £1,452.07 a year, before any higher rate your contract promises. It is on top of the pay in the surgery hourly rate calculator, and it is one more line in the yearly list in our regulator fees guide, though that guide covers regulators, not pensions. The 3% is a floor. Many practices pay more to keep a trained nurse, and the arithmetic is the same: multiply the percentage by the pay in the band.

Dentists, associates and self-employed staff

The rules above apply to employees and to workers. Associate dentists who are genuinely self-employed are not on your payroll, so they are outside the practice's duty. Whether a particular associate is self-employed depends on the contract and the way the work is done, which we do not cover here. If in doubt, ask an accountant before you leave a person off the payroll.

Starting checks for a new nurse

When a trainee or new nurse starts, you already collect right-to-work and registration papers. Add the pension: the start date, the age, the expected pay, and the date the 6 weeks or 3 months ends if you use postponement. Our guides to the trainee nurse 12-month rule and the DBS check cost cover other first-month paperwork and costs.

A short monthly routine

1. Run the payroll test every pay period for everyone, including staff on zero or variable hours.
2. Keep a dated list of who is in, who is under the line and who has asked to join.
3. Write to anyone newly enrolled within the time allowed.
4. Check the figures against GOV.UK each April.
5. Add the employer's 3% to the cost of every new post before you offer it.

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant that watches each person's pay against the trigger and drafts the enrolment letter for the practice manager to approve.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.