---
title: "How do I opt out/exclude an employee from auto enrolment?"
slug: "how-do-i-opt-out-exclude-an-employee-out-of-auto-enrolment"
updated: 2026-06-10T11:18:41Z
published: 2026-06-10T11:18:41Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/how-do-i-opt-out-exclude-an-employee-out-of-auto-enrolment"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How do I opt out/exclude an employee from auto enrolment?

**Cintra iQ** has an **Auto Enrolment(AE)** facility, which takes you through the process of amending a pension scheme set up, defining which payment headings are pensionable and which headings are classed as **Qualifying Earnings** , running an assessment, and enrolling employees into the relevant **Auto Enrolment** scheme. **Cintra iQ** can also manage **Opt ins** and **Opt outs**.

> [!TIP]
> **Example:** An employee commences employment on the 1st June 2017. The employee is assessed as an Eligible Job holder and is auto-enrolled into a qualifying Pension Scheme. The appropriate communications are produced and sent to the employee. The employee receives the communication and chooses to opt out from the scheme. The employee completes the opt out form and this is passed to the payroll office for processing.

## To opt out the employee

1. Navigate to the employee's **Expenses & Benefits** window. Go to **Cintra iQ**: Employment record > Forms > Expenses/Benefits. The employee's **Expenses & Benefits** window appears.
2. Navigate to the **Pensions & Benefits Scheme** tab.
3. Within the **Scheme Membership** pane, double-click the desired **Scheme Membership** record. The **Edit Pension Scheme Membership** form appears.
4. Enter the date the employee has **Left Scheme**.
5. Navigate to the **Left Method** section.
6. Select the **By Opt Out** option.
7. Enter a **Valid Opt-Out Notice Received** date.
8. Enter an **Opt-out Reference**.
9. From the **Opt-out refund to be processed in Payroll Period** drop down, select the payroll period that you want to refund the pension contributions into. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/204001063803.png)
10. Click the **OK** button.

### To choose which payroll period to opt out the employees

In the example above, the opt-out notice was received when the June payroll was still open (BACS, payslips and reports have not been produced). In this scenario, the opt-out notice can be processed and completing the steps described above will end membership of the pension scheme and remove the pension contributions from the employees pay.

In situations where the valid opt-out notice was received after the payroll was closed, when you select the next available period, eg 2014/04, iQ will: a) cease membership of the scheme and b) automatically refund any contributions deducted in June.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/204001063804.png)

**Cintra iQ** allows you to create different pension scheme types to enable the correct deductions from both employee and employer contributions. These schemes are linked to payees for payment and provision of output files. They are also linked as appropriate to the pension auto enrolment functionality so that this process can be managed efficiently.

You can exclude an employee from an **Auto Enrolment** pension scheme, if needed.

## To exclude an employee

1. Navigate to the **Pension & Benefit Scheme** tab of the employee's **Expenses_Benefits** window. Go to **Cintra iQ**: Employment record > Forms > Expense/Benefits
2. Select the desired **Scheme Membership**.
3. Select the **Exclude from Auto-Enrolment** option. ![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/204001063805.png)
4. Click **Apply** to save.
5. Click **OK** to exit.