From the end of this year through to 2015, the government is rolling out auto-enrolment pension schemes across the whole of UK business, starting with the largest companies and working through to small businesses.

Last week, pensions minister Steve Webb said that small firms would not need to pay for advice when it came to their turn to implement schemes.

However, PIPS secretary Barry Dixon told PrintWeek that the minister's comments were misleading and could lead to a disaster for many businesses.

He said: "Steve Webb is totally wrong; he has made a huge mistake. What he said could cause an awful lot of small employers huge problems in years to come.

"Small businesses will need advice; there is an awful lot of complexity about this. An employer will need to know who is eligible and who isn't for instance, it isn't as simple as filling in a few boxes and being done with it.

"Companies need to get this right, they face fines if they don't and they will certainly need to seek advice, not just in the print industry, in every industry."

However, Dixon added that the minister should have pointed out that, for small businesses that may struggle to afford to pay consultants and advisors, there are alternatives, such as PIPS itself, which is a free service.

He said: "What we want printers to understand is that there is free advice available. PIPS is a free service, here for the printers.

"Some employers will be put off seeking advice, even if it is free, when they hear the minister say there is no need to seek advice, but that really isn't the case. Small businesses should be talking to experts."