Sonia Simkins ran Hawes Lane Surgery before it closed after a bankruptcy order was made against her
A GP practice manager who failed to pay more than £75,000 into her employees’ pension funds has been handed a seven-year director ban.
Sonia Simkins deducted money from staff wages but failed to pay it into an NHS pension scheme.
The 54-year-old contributed just £1,722 into the pension funds for her staff working at Hawes Lane Surgery, in Rowley Regis.
Simkins – of Foxglove Way, Dudley – ran Hawes Lane Surgery as a sole trader.
But the practice closed last July after a bankruptcy order was made against her, the Insolvency Service said.
An investigation by the Official Receiver found she deducted pension contributions from staff wages.
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But she failed to pay the money into the NHS Pension Scheme as required.
The Insolvency Service said it has been unable to confirm exactly what happened to the money.
Simkins agreed a Bankruptcy Restrictions Undertaking (BRU) on April 3.
It means she cannot manage a limited company for the next seven years, take out a loan of more than £500 without disclosing the restriction, or work in some senior health service roles.
David Chapman, senior official receiver at the Insolvency Service, said: “Simkins deducted pension contributions from her staff’s wages, but failed to pay more than £75,000 into the NHS pension fund – while the closure of Hawes Lane Surgery had an immediate impact on staff and patients in Rowley Regis.
“Following an Insolvency Service investigation by the Official Receiver, Simkins accepted her misconduct.
“The BRU will prevent her from acting as a company director or starting a new company until April 2032.”
Simkins should have paid £76,868 into the NHS pension fund for her staff between August 2019 and December 2020, as well as June 2023 and June 2024.
Just £1,722 was contributed.
She deducted more than £25,000 from her employees’ salaries as pension contributions and failed to pay more than £50,000 of employer contributions.
Hawes Lane Surgery closed on July 25 last year, with almost 4,000 registered patients receiving no notice of the closure.
It employed 10 members of staff including a GP, as well as staff in receptionist and administrative roles.
The Insolvency Service said: “The Official Receiver worked closely with the Black Country Integrated Care Board (BCICB) to ensure patients arriving for appointments that day were provided with appropriate medical care at nearby surgeries.
“BCICB also ensured patients at the surgery had continuing access to a GP before being re-registered at a new practice.”
According to the Insolvency Service, a BRU allows a bankrupt person suspected of misconduct to accept restrictions without needing to go to court.
Accepting a BRU can also lead to a shorter time period of restrictions.
