What happens to child maintenance payments if DH is made redundant?

[CollectorOfCookbooks]

DH may be about to be made redundant. He's been at the company for 7 years, so should get a pay out. Some advice on how to handle maintenance would be great, we're very confused.

He pays maintenance to his Ex for DSD, the standard 15% of his salary. All formalised via the CSA.

What we're unclear about is what happens if he is made redundant - will his Ex automatically receive 15% of the payout? Even though to our minds the payout would be used to carry on with DSD's maintenence until he gets another job? Surely she can't have a share of it 'twice' if you see what I mean, receive 15% of the payout then maintenance continues as normal whilst he's jobhunting?

Or do we tell Ex he's under threat of redundancy (she knows nothing at the moment) and give her 15% of the payout but stop the child maintenance whilst he's not earning? He's job hunting and things are looking positive but as everyone knows the market is hard right now.

As you can tell we're a bit at sea with this one. It's not that we want to withhold money from DSD, at all, just that we want to ensure we're fair, and that she doesn't feel the impact of this happening if at all possible.

[CollectorOfCookbooks]

Just realised it might be 20%! Whatever it is, he's paying it and has paid it since the split 8.5 years ago.

[Collaborate]

Look at pages 8 & 9 of the attached document. It's from June 2011, and although it only deals with what they can enforce maintenance against, it may give a guide to whether they take it in to account (the answer re enforcement is statutory redundancy they can't tough, contractual redundancy they can).

www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_digitalassets/@dg/@en/@benefits/documents/digitalasset/dg_199139.pdf

Assuming he will get the bog standard redundancy they can't enfoce it against that. Pay in lieu of notice is income, and he will be assessed against it.

Part 2 of the Schedule to the Child Support (Maintenance Assessment and Special cases) Regulations 2000 specifically state that earnings include pay in lieu of notice, but in the list of income not taken into account no mention is made of redundancy payments. Not very clear, but if I were him I'd carry on paying at the previous rate until pay in lieu of notice runs out (e.g. paid 3 month PILON, pay maintenance at previous rate for 3 months) and thereafter notify the CSA, who will vary it down until he finds another job.

[CollectorOfCookbooks]

Thank you very much, will check that out

[STIDW]

Someone went to a tribunal about this recently. Apparently it used to be that statutory redundancy wasn't taken into account and contractual redundancy could be but the rules changed so contractual redundancy is no longer taken into account as income when making an assessment.

It's confusing because contractual redundancy is considered as income for the purpose of collecting arrears.

[CollectorOfCookbooks]

He's not in arrears, so therefore I guess it shouldn't be.

We'll use it to keep DSD's child maintenence going til he gets another job, so it seems rather unfair to have to pay twice!

[Collaborate]

There's no prospect of him having to pay twice.