Can CSA ask employer for employee's earnings?

Hopefullyhelpful

bob_dob wrote: »

Thank you all, they are very informative answers and i appreciate them.

It would appear my friend now has a 'plan'(don't be harsh about this to me as it is NOT my idea, it's his and i take no responsibility for it!)
Ok, his plan is to start a private pension, put 99% of his take home pay into it, provide his monthly payslip to the CSA but also provide them with the 'proof' of him putting 99% of his take home pay into this pension.....then stopping the pension. Then doing the same again, if the CSA ask for his payslip again. And so on.
His belief is that 'the CSA can't touch what you put into a pension'.

Now is this an amateurish attempt at defrauding the CSA that is bound to fail.....or is he a genius who has found the loophole to end all loopholes?
Answers please.....

Unfortunately legislation changed and they can now cap pension contributions at (i think) 15%.

bob_dob

Thank you for that.
Please can i ask when it changed? And before that, would such a plan have worked?

Hopefullyhelpful

Hi bob dob, I think it changed in 2008. It may have possibly worked before hand but any 'decent' caseworker would have looked into when pension payments started and ask for an annual statement. If it helps they also looks at the 3 months previous to the date they make the request!! If he is not doing overtime on a regular basis and of the 3 months they ask for (eg june, july, august) only 1 contains overtime they will disregard overtime. Hope this helps slightly.

bob_dob

Thank you so much for your help. That is very interesting.
Unfortunately my friend refuses to accept that there was a legislation change.
If anyone can please give me any more info about it so i can show him i would be very grateful!

adamantine

i would just let him get on with it. if he wants to land himself in a heap of trouble let him. why cant he go check out the info himself since its his CSA case?

bob_dob

Sigh, i know. It's just that when someone refuses to accept advice (such as that about the legislation change) it's really quite appealing to prove it to them.
So if anyone has any links to this particular bit of legislation i would be very happy to receive them.
Thank you all again!!

Hopefullyhelpful

it is to do with diversion of income, i'm pretty sure the pwc has to apply for this to be taken into account and the legislation is as follows:
Income not taken into account and diversion of income

19.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), a case shall constitute a case for the purposes of paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 4B to the Act where—
(a)the non-resident parent’s liability to pay child support maintenance under the maintenance calculation which is in force or has been applied for or treated as applied for, is, or would be, as the case may be—
(i)the nil rate owing to the application of paragraph 5(a) of Schedule 1 to the Act; or
(ii)a flat rate, owing to the application of paragraph 4(1)(b) of Schedule 1 to the Act, or would be a flat rate but is less than that amount, or nil, owing to the application of paragraph 8 of Schedule 1 to the Act; and
(b)the Secretary of State is satisfied that the non-resident parent is in receipt of income which would fall to be taken into account under the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations but for the application to the non-resident parent of paragraph 4(1)(b) or 5(a) of Schedule 1 to the Act.
(2) Paragraph (1) shall apply where the income referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph is a net weekly income of over £100.
(3) Net weekly income for the purposes of paragraph (2), in relation to earned income of a non-resident parent who is a student, shall be calculated by aggregating the income for the year ending with the relevant week (which for this purpose shall have the meaning given in the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations) and dividing by 52, or, where the Secretary of State does not consider the result to be representative of the student’s earned income, over such other period as he shall consider representative and dividing by the number of weeks in that period.
(4) A case shall constitute a case for the purposes of paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 4B to the Act where—
(a)the non-resident parent has the ability to control the amount of income he receives, including earnings from employment or self-employment, whether or not the whole of that income is derived from the company or business from which his earnings are derived, and
(b)the Secretary of State is satisfied that the non-resident parent has unreasonably reduced the amount of his income which would otherwise fall to be taken into account under the Maintenance Calculations and Special Cases Regulations by diverting it to other persons or for purposes other than the provision of such income for himself in order to reduce his liability to pay child support maintenance.
(5) Where a variation on this ground is agreed to—
(a)in a case to which paragraph (1) applies, the additional income taken into account under regulation 25 shall be the whole of the income referred to in paragraph (1)(b), aggregated with any benefit, pension or allowance which the non-resident parent receives other than any benefits referred to in regulation 26(3); and
(b)in a case to which paragraph (4) applies, the additional income taken into account under regulation 25 shall be the whole of the amount by which the Secretary of State is satisfied the non-resident parent has unreasonably reduced his income.

bob_dob

Thank you hopefullyhelpful, that is brilliant and indeed very helpful!!
No mention on the 15% though?