Maintenance

[Nikkim123]

Hi
I've just received notification from child maintenance that my ex partners payment will be the Flat rate due to his girlfriend that he lives with claiming a benefit. However my ex partner still works and is earning 40k.

I've read up and it does state if paying parents partner claims a benefit the payment becomes flat rate. I just do not understand how this can be correct when he is still working in the same job. Has this happened to anyone else?

That doesn't seem fair.

I had to look it up and you’re quite right. The partner’s income isn’t taken into account so why on earth is their benefit. This sounds wrong and horribly unfair. Outrageous.

Government has no interest in having both parents support their children.

Surely they won't be getting benefits if he earns 40k unless they have loads of kids or extremely high rent or childcare costs ?

If she was getting a disability benefit that would not be taken into account so it has to be Universal credit which would need to be a joint claim ? very odd ??

That's terribly unfair

Hi everyone this is what it says... My ex has confirmed he is still working so the reason for flat rate is the partner receiving certain state benefits. They live together so I'm totally Confused. I suffer severe anxiety, I want to call them but my anxiety gets in the way.

Step 3 – Child maintenance rate
Because Mr...... (or their partner if applicable) receive certain state benefits, or Mr.... ’s gross
weekly income is between £7.00 and £100.00, this means they qualify for the Flat rate of child maintenance

I've just read over my child's annual review and it does indeed specify that he is living with another child for whom his partner receives child benefit which is why his payments have decreased.

However your situation is so strange. Can you query it? He is still working so why all of a sudden is that not being taken into account as his partner is in receipt of benefits? How does that cancel out his duty to his child/children? I am lost. As all the years my ex lived with his partner and they both worked her wages were never taken into account. For which I will add I dont think that they should be anyway. But then how can they take into account the partners earnings only when it's benefit related. That seems unfair.

This is so terrible. I hope you are ok x

This is unfair but it is correct. The "certain state benefits" include contributions based ones, such as JSA and ESA, so your ex could be earning millions, yet only pay the flat rate because of their partner's entitlement.

www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/child-maintenance-rates-explained

(The link is for NI but the same applies to the rest of the UK.)

Good grief. How horribly unfair.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. We will lose our home, I feel so scared :(

Can you not discuss it with him and ask him to keep supporting his child at the usual rate?

I'm going to try..xx

Use their messaging service. How his not if the nrp isnt working but supported by their partner that isn't taken into account. But if he is working and his partner isn't it is?

Write to your mp if you get no joy.

Do you know what benefit she is claiming? Some are time limited, for instance JSA is only payable for six months. Still difficult but knowing it's a short term measure might make it more manageable.

If it's ESA, the rules are more complicated, if you're placed in the lower group it's limited to a year, but the higher (support) group does not have a limit. There's also Carer's Allowance, which is paid indefinitely.

@3peassuit

I had to look it up and you’re quite right. The partner’s income isn’t taken into account so why on earth is their benefit. This sounds wrong and horribly unfair. Outrageous.

I guess it could be because if for example a partner is just claiming contributions based ESA because they are too ill to work and not entitled to any means tested benefit because of household income, then their household income could be severely limited by that partner's inability to work.

The law needs changing on this. I wonder if Mumsnet would get behind a campaign? Or if you have a sympathetic MP they might raise/ publicise the issue? There must be thousands of women affected by this.

@Nikkim123

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do. We will lose our home, I feel so scared :(

Op it could just be short term if the partner is too ill to work at present. It has to be a sickness benefit she is claiming like contributions based JSA or ESA ? Are you aware of any health problems she may have? If it is JSA it only runs for 28 weeks so could just be short term.

then their household income could be severely limited by that partner's inability to work.

Then the amount could be adjusted to reflect a dependent, like if the nrp has more children. It's no justification to reduce the award to almost nothing.

then their household income could be severely limited by that partner's inability to work

A parent’s obligations are to their children first and foremost. No decent father would allow their love life to stand in the way of providing a roof over their child’s head. Whatever the partner’s situation (and maybe she really is in an awful one), this father should be choosing to provide for his child before he provides for her. Sadly the law is an ass and allows deadbeat dads to ignore their responsibilities in a multitude of ways.

I think the CMS needs a proper shake up as it is diabolical.

I have had several periods of non payment over the last 6 years. This is despite a deduction of earnings order and consistent paid employment with overtime with the same employer. When my son IS paid he gets a significantly reduced amount to what is ordered as that is all the employer will send. I have involved my MP several times and they have been helpful but sadly they can't change the system. The CMS have told me they will nearly never take a non paying parent to court and in my son's case I should be grateful that the employer sends money at all and they simply can't force them to send the full amount. The arrears on my son's case are now high and I have been told he is unlikely to ever be paid them! I have been told it is also my fault for relying on it as maintenance isn't guaranteed.
I will never understand how they work and justify their actions.
I rarely feel they are on the resident parents side. Why can the paying parent be deemed unable to contribute adequately so easily when in reality if they were in the child's life all the time they would he contributing to and funding alot more. And what makes it worse because they get to pay a pittance they can say 'I pay maintenance'.

I really feel for you OP and I cannot believe any decent human earning a proper wage, in fact a wage at all, wouldn't want to help towards their child. I really hope speaking to him will get you somewhere

Does he have kids with his new gf?

If I understand this correctly, the paying parent could be on £100,000 pa and still not have to pay a penny if their partner was on certain benefits. Unbelievably ridiculous.

That seems very unfair indeed. I'd try and check up if she is falsely claiming benefits.

How on earth did that rule come to be? It’s just so blatantly unfair.