Employers who have been dodging handing over pension contributions for their staff have been rushing to pay in the past few weeks since two companies were prosecuted at court, The Royal Gazette has learned.

Auditor General Larry Dennis said last month he was "stunned" when the companies were fined just $250 each for avoiding paying $255,000 over a five-year period.

And he said he feared it would encourage honest employers to hold back on social insurance contributions to Government for staff pensions if they would only receive a $250 fine.

But Government insurance officer Kelly Hodsoll told The Royal Gazette yesterday that "delinquent employers" had come forward with payments since the publicity last month when Health Tec Limited and Jeremy Johnson's Village Carpentry Limited were fined at Magistrates' Court for not paying social insurance contributions.

By law, employers must deduct social insurance payments from their employees' pay cheques, which they must match, and pass onto Government for the Government Contributory Pension.

Not passing on this money, means workers lose a chunk of their pension when they retire because their employers have not made contributions.

Mr. Dennis told The Royal Gazette last month that he thought the law meant the companies should have been fined $250 for each offence of non-payment of social insurance - and the multiple offences stretched back over five years.

In light of Mr. Dennis's criticisms, the Ministry of Finance and the Social Insurance Department held a meeting with Director of Public Prosecutions Khamisi Tokunbo to discuss the case.

Mrs. Hodsoll said yesterday: "The criminal charges against Health Tec Limited and the Village Carpentry Limited were the first in ten years, and although the fines were minimal, they have far reaching consequences.

"It should be noted that contrary to the concept that employers will cease paying contributions in light of the minimal fines, we have seen an influx of payments from delinquent employers since the proceedings were published."

She said that at the end of this month, the Social Insurance Department will provide an annual record of contributions to employees, which will allow workers to find out if their bosses' have been avoiding making contributions to their pension.

Mrs. Hodsoll said another consequence of the fines to the two companies was that "existing creditors of these businesses may question their ability to meet their other commitments as well as the extent to which they will extend additional credit.

"In addition, the employees of these companies will question the integrity of the management when they consider the fact that social insurance contributions represent a portion of their retirement savings, which their employer is using for other purposes."

Last July, Government was owed $10.4 million in social insurance payments from companies. \