Make child maintenance deductions from an employee's pay
Highlighting the schemes which the Child Maintenance Service runs and your legal responsibilities as an employer
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is a part of the Department for Communities. Its aim is to make sure that parents who live apart from their children contribute towards their upkeep by paying child maintenance.
Employers play an important role, working in partnership with CMS, in helping parents meet the financial responsibility of bringing up their children. That role could involve:
- helping CMS to collect information about your employees so that they can work out child maintenance
- setting up Deduction from Earnings Orders
- responding to enquiries from the organisations CMS uses to collect payments of child maintenance on its behalf
This guide highlights your legal obligations as an employer for collecting child maintenance from your employees, often referred to as paying parents.
It will also explain how you should make deductions from earnings and how to send payments to CMS.
Your legal obligations when deducting child maintenance
By law, you must:
- give information to the Child Maintenance Service if you're asked to
- send payments as soon as possible, but no later than the 19th day of the month following the month you made the deduction
- tell the Child Maintenance Service immediately if there are any problems with taking payments from a paying parent's earnings
- make regular payments - if you don't send payments and don't explain why, you could be taken to court
The paying parent is the parent who doesn't have main day-to-day care of the child.
You must also tell the Child Maintenance Service about a change of circumstances within 10 days. For example, if:
- an employee leaves your business
- you're asked to set up a deduction from earnings order (DEO) for someone who doesn't work for you
You can phone Child Maintenance Service or put this information in writing.
Use the Child Maintenance Service online
If you've ever managed a case through the Child Maintenance Service, you can register for the online service. The service lets you:
- see all deductions for the Child Maintenance Service
- report and make changes
- send messages
- see important information you've been sent
Helpline
You can also call if you have any questions.
Child Maintenance Service Employer Payment Team
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers
Deduction from Earnings Orders (DEOs)
Deduction from earnings orders (DEOs) are a way of collecting child maintenance directly from a paying parent's earnings or pension.
The paying parent is the parent who doesn't have main day-to-day care of the child.
When you'll get a DEO
You'll be sent a deduction from earnings order (DEO) if one of your employees is a paying parent who:
- chooses to pay child maintenance direct from their earnings
- doesn't pay the correct amount of child maintenance on time
- doesn't pay at all
The DEO will be sent to you by the Child Maintenance Service (CMS).
What you need to do
You must deduct the amount of child maintenance stated on the DEO from your employee's net earnings or their pension and pay it to the Child Maintenance Service. This will include any arrears that are due.
If you have any questions you can contact the Child Maintenance Service:
The Child Maintenance online service.
The service also lets you:
- see all deductions for the Child Maintenance Service
- report and make changes
- send messages
- see important information you've been sent
Helpline
You can also call if you have any questions.
Child Maintenance Service Employer Payment Team
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers
How to calculate deductions
The deduction from earnings order (DEO) will show 2 rates.
| Rate | What it Means |
|---|---|
| Normal deduction rate (NDR) | The amount your employee owes in child maintenance. You'll deduct this from their pay. |
| Protected earnings proportion (PEP) | The minimum pay you must make sure your employee takes home after all deductions have been made. |
You must make sure that your deduction leaves your employee with the amount of their protected earnings, unless the deduction is for administrative costs.
How much to deduct
You may not always be able to deduct the full NDR from your employee's pay.
This depends on how much they have left in net earnings once you've taken in account their PEP.
You can deduct up to £1 for administration costs.
Example - where you can deduct the full NDR
Your employee's net earnings are £1,200 a month.
The minimum amount they must take home (PEP) is £1,000 a month.
Net earnings of £1,200 minus the PEP of £1,000 = £200.
The amount they owe in child maintenance (NDR) is £150 a month.
In this case, the employee has enough left for you to deduct the full NDR amount of £150.
Example - where you can't deduct the full NDR
Your employee's net earnings are £900 a month.
The minimum amount they must take home (PEP) is £750 a month.
Net earnings of £900 minus the PEP of £750 = £150.
The amount they owe in child maintenance (NDR) is £200 a month.
In this case, the employee doesn't have enough left for you to deduct the full NDR amount of £200.
You should send £150 to the Child Maintenance Service.
The shortfall of £50 is carried forward to the next pay period.
If you can't deduct the full NDR
You must:
- keep a record of the shortfall
- carry forward the shortfall to the next period
- send any deduction you've been able to make to the court or Child Maintenance Service
You then deduct the full amount of the shortfall plus the NDR owed for the next pay period. You must still leave your employee with the PEP.
If the shortfall is carried forward for several weeks before being repaid, keep a record of the ongoing shortfall.
The Child Maintenance Service or court may need to review an NDR if an employee consistently can't pay it.
If you pay your employee holiday pay in advance
You'll have to:
- calculate your employee's total net earnings for the pay period
- multiply the PEP and the NDR by the number of weeks in the pay period
- set aside the combined PEP and take off the combined NDR in the usual way
Example - including holiday pay in advance
In this example, the earnings include 1 week's pay plus 2 weeks' holiday pay paid in advance.
Your employee has net earnings of £160 a week.
The NDR is £32 a week and the PEP is £96 a week (60% of their net income).
Net earnings are £160 x 3 = £480 (1 week's pay + 2 weeks' holiday pay).
Take away the PEP of £96 x 3 (£288). This leaves £192, so you'd send the Child Maintenance Service the full NDR of £96 (£32 x 3).
If you have any questions you can contact the Child Maintenance Service:
The Child Maintenance online service.
The service also lets you:
- see all deductions for the Child Maintenance Service
- report and make changes
- send messages
- see important information you've been sent
Helpline
You can also call if you have any questions.
Child Maintenance Service Employer Payment Team
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers.
What counts as earnings
A Deduction from Earnings Order (DEO) can only be made from the following earnings:
- wages, fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or any payments on top of wages
- private or occupational pensions and compensation payments
- Statutory Sick Pay
- contractual sick pay
- contractual maternity pay (not Statutory Maternity Pay)
- contractual paternity pay (not Statutory Paternity Pay)
- contractual adoption pay (not Statutory Adoption Pay)
- contractual redundancy pay (not Statutory Redundancy Pay)
Statutory pay is money that employees are entitled to by law. Contractual pay is pay that you agree with your employees over and above statutory pay.
What doesn't count as earnings for DEOs
Your employee can't pay child maintenance by DEO if their only earnings are in the following categories:
- amounts paid by a public department of any country outside the UK
- any social security pension, allowance or benefit
- tax credits
- any pension or allowance paid for disability
- guaranteed minimum pension within the Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975
- statutory maternity pay
- statutory paternity pay
- statutory adoption pay
- statutory redundancy pay
For example, if your employee is only receiving statutory maternity, paternity or adoption pay, they cannot pay child maintenance by a DEO.
However, once they return to work - or if they are receiving any contractual maternity, paternity or adoption pay - they may choose to, or be required to, pay by DEO.
If you have any questions you can contact the Child Maintenance Service:
The Child Maintenance online service.
The service also lets you:
- see all deductions for the Child Maintenance Service
- report and make changes
- send messages
- see important information you've been sent
Helpline
You can also call if you have any questions.
Child Maintenance Service Employer Payment Team
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers.
Make DEO payments
You can be prosecuted if you don't pay the amount on a deduction from earnings order (DEO).
You can manage any of your DEO payments with the online service. You should send a single bulk Banks Automated Clearing System (BACS) payment for all the employees you make a deduction from.
You'll get a monthly schedule.
You can also pay by other methods:
- internet banking
- telephone banking
- cheque
When to pay
You should send a payment to the Child Maintenance Service so it gets there no later than the 19th day of the month following the month that you took it.
Example
If you take the money on 30 September, you must send it by 19 October.
If you take the money on 1 October, you must send it by 19 November.
You and your employee will be sent a letter every year to remind you how much must be paid and when.
Deductions for administrative costs
You can take up to £1 towards administrative costs for each deduction, on top of the amount asked for on the DEO. You can take it even if it reduces your employee's income below the protected earnings proportion.
Inform your employee
You must inform your employee in writing about each deduction when they are given their pay statement. Include the amount (if any) you deduct towards your expenses.
If pay statements are not usually given, you should inform your employee in writing. You should do this no later than the employee's pay day after the deduction was made.
If you pay the wrong amount
Contact the Child Maintenance Service if you find a mistake in the amount you've paid.
If you have any questions you can contact the Child Maintenance Service:
The Child Maintenance online service.
The service also lets you:
- see all deductions for the Child Maintenance Service
- report and make changes
- send messages
- see important information you've been sent
Helpline
You can also call if you have any questions.
Child Maintenance Service Employer Payment Team
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers
Change of circumstances for DEOS
Tell the Child Maintenance Service if your employee's circumstances change.
You can use the online service.
Or contact the Child Maintenance Service employer helpline.
Child Maintenance Service employer helpline
Telephone: 0800 232 1961
Text relay number: 18001 0800 171 2345
nidirect guidance on contacting 08 and 03 telephone numbers
If your business stops trading, or if your employee leaves your employment, you must tell the service dealing with the case within 10 days.
You should also tell them if your employee changes their hours.
You and your employee will be sent a revised deduction from earnings order (DEO).
If the Child Maintenance Service cancels a DEO
They will write to you and your employee to tell you the DEO has been cancelled. They will ask you to stop taking deductions from the date of the letter.
You must only stop taking deductions if you're told in writing.
If you don't help with DEOs
If you've got a deduction from earnings order (DEO) it's an offence to:
- not provide information when it's required
- make a false statement or representation
- knowingly provide false information
- delay or obstruct an inspector on purpose
- refuse or fail to answer any questions or supply any information or to produce any document when it's asked for
The Child Maintenance Service sometimes sends inspectors to interview 'paying parents' at work. You must let them interview your employee.
The 'paying parent' is the parent who doesn't have main day-to-day care of the child.
You can be fined up to £1,000 if you're found guilty of any of these offences.