How do I change a worker’s payment source and group at the same time?

There may be times you need to move workers from one payment source to another and change their group at the same time. To make both these changes within the same pay period, also known as an earnings period, you’ll need to tell us in the relevant contribution schedule or in a contributions file.

To do this you’ll need to create a new group and payment source you need to move the worker to. You’ll also need to make sure that the new payment source is active.

Please note it takes up to 11 working days to set up a Direct Debit so you may need to wait to change a member’s payment source if this hasn’t been set up yet. You can see more information about this in How do I add a new payment source once I’ve set up with NEST?

When changing a worker’s payment source and group, you’ll need to select the effective date as this determines when the change will take place. The date you choose must fall on or after the worker’s start date and within the pay period of the contribution schedule you’re using to make the change.

If you’re only making these changes for a few workers you might find it easier to make the change one member at a time directly through your online NEST account. If you’re making these changes for a large number of workers you might find it easier to upload a file or use secure file transfer.

When moving a worker from one payment source and group to another, if the date you’ve selected falls in a previously paid schedule, the schedule could show as Unpaid again. You’ll need to process the unpaid contribution schedule accordingly by choosing the option ‘member has insufficient earnings’ if there are no contributions to be paid.

If you change a worker’s group and payment source at the start of a pay period we won’t expect any further contributions for them from the old payment source and group. Instead, we’ll expect all their contributions from the new payment source and new group you’ve moved them to.