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Employer and employee pension contributions for workers at Sanjeev Gupta’s Lochaber smelter were reportedly unpaid from July 2026, according to a report by The Herald reproduced by pensions commentator Henry Tapper on 2 October. The reproduction says Liberty Steel Group chief transformation officer Jeff Kabel told staff the company had notified The Pensions Regulator. Neither the reported arrears nor the notification has been independently confirmed by regulator or scheme records in the sources available here.
What has been reported about the Lochaber pension contributions?
The 2 October 2026 reproduction of The Herald’s report says both employer and employee pension contributions for Lochaber smelter workers had not been paid since July. It also says staff at the smelter and Jahama Highland Estates received an email from Jeff Kabel on the preceding Thursday stating that the company had notified The Pensions Regulator. The email’s exact wording and any notice received by the regulator are not available in the reproduced account.
The report concerns pension contributions, not wages. It does not establish whether employee contributions were deducted from workers’ pay, which legal employers or pension schemes are involved, how many workers are affected, or which specific contribution periods remain outstanding.
Have the reported arrears been paid?
The available reporting does not establish whether the contributions have since been paid, when any payment reached a scheme, or whether any amount remains outstanding. It also does not establish whether the regulator opened enforcement, issued a notice, or took another case-specific action. A company notification to the regulator, if made as reported, is not itself proof of repayment or a regulatory finding.
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What does The Pensions Regulator say about late contributions?
The Pensions Regulator says employers have “an ongoing legal duty to pay pension contributions into your scheme on time.” Its automatic-enrolment guidance describes a general process: a pension provider reports outstanding mismatches and contacts the employer. If contributions remain unpaid 14 days after the regulator receives the report, it says it will start enforcement by issuing an unpaid contributions notice; further enforcement may include fines.
That is the regulator’s general guidance, not evidence that a notice or fine has been issued in the Lochaber matter. The report that the company notified the regulator should not be confused with the separate process described for provider reports and subsequent enforcement.
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What if the affected scheme is defined-benefit?
The reported account does not identify the pension arrangements or say whether they are defined-benefit schemes. If an affected arrangement is defined-benefit, The Pensions Regulator’s trustee guidance says trustees should maintain a schedule of contributions, check payments against it, and contact the employer promptly after a failure. Material late payments should usually be reported within 10 working days after trustees have reasonable cause to believe a failure exists.
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For those defined-benefit arrangements, the guidance says member contributions must not be scheduled later than the 22nd day of the month after deduction from pay, or the 19th day if payment is not electronic. These rules are relevant only if the affected scheme is confirmed as defined-benefit; they do not establish a due date for the reported Lochaber arrears.
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What is the Lochaber public-finance context?
A Scottish Government freedom-of-information response published in February 2026 says the Lochaber Guarantee was £586 million when issued in 2016. It says the amounts guaranteed decline over time, ranging from £14 million to £32 million annually through 2041, and that the government receives a guarantee fee. These are guarantee figures, not the amount of any pension arrears or a statement of current exposure.
In March 2026, the Scottish Parliament Public Audit Committee scrutinised Lochaber, including government due diligence and risks to public funds. The committee’s discussion referred to the collapse of Greensill Capital, a Serious Fraud Office investigation, and five years without lodging audited accounts. That scrutiny is background only; it does not establish a cause for the pension issue.
The Scottish Government’s February 2026 FOI response said its most recent correspondence with GFG Alliance was on 28 October 2025 and that it received regular financial updates from Lochaber businesses. It also records that Minister for Public Finance Ivan McKee met GFG Alliance chief transformation officer Jeffrey Kabel on 9 September 2025. The available response does not establish the content of those updates or government contact after October 2025.
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