Can my employer include expenses in a DEO?

StretchedElf

My employer recently made a deduction from my wages that left me below the protected income rate. However, because I was reimbursed expenses at the same time my employer claims I still received more than the protected income. My expenses aren't taxable income, they are merely repayments of moneys I've spent out of income I've already received and paid child support from. Can they do this?

DUTR

Seems to be some confusion, as expenses are not included on the payslip (well mine are not) they go into my bank sperately.

HoneyNutLoop

This is a link to the employer's guide that is on gov.uk which outlines what counts and does not count as earnings for a DEO:
https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-for-employers/what-the-child-support-agency-counts-as-earnings

It doesn't mention expenses one way or the other but the first bullet point: "wages, fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or any payments on top of wages" is a bit of a catch all, so it doesn't look promising. However, the simplest way to get a definitive answer may be to contact the CSA by your preferred method (telephone/email/letter) and ask.

StretchedElf

DUTR wrote: »

Seems to be some confusion, as expenses are not included on the payslip (well mine are not) they go into my bank sperately.

My expenses do show on my payslip but separate to deductable income and after deductions.

In addition, I've just had another conversation with my employer and they are adamant that they have only followed the instructions to deduct from my wages. Surely my expenses aren't wages?!

StretchedElf

HoneyNutLoop wrote: »

This is a link to the employer's guide that is on gov.uk which outlines what counts and does not count as earnings for a DEO:
https://www.gov.uk/child-maintenance-for-employers/what-the-child-support-agency-counts-as-earnings

It doesn't mention expenses one way or the other but the first bullet point: "wages, fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or any payments on top of wages" is a bit of a catch all, so it doesn't look promising. However, the simplest way to get a definitive answer may be to contact the CSA by your preferred method (telephone/email/letter) and ask.

It's a deduction of earnings though, and all of those are earnings. Expenses is not, surely. It isn't taxed a second time when reimbursed, so how can it be used to calculate a DEO twice?

Anyway I think I shall ring CSA but I can't say I'm confident they will be of much help.

DUTR

StretchedElf wrote: »

My expenses do show on my payslip but separate to deductable income and after deductions.

In addition, I've just had another conversation with my employer and they are adamant that they have only followed the instructions to deduct from my wages. Surely my expenses aren't wages?!

Seems the book keeper at your place works differently to ours, if I worked from a different office say 80 miles away and an over night stop then I would put in a claim for expenses for say £84.80, this arrives in my bank account seperately from my salary.

StretchedElf

Spoke to CSA and asked if expenses can be treated as deductable income for a DEO. The advisor immediately said no, but then seemed to become unsure and said she would call me back once she had checked.

I really hope I can sort this out. I incur about £30-40 expenses every week. I can't afford to lose that.

Edit: CSA have spoken to my employer and instructed them not to include expenses in the deduction and that they must pay me the protected income rate PLUS expenses. Result! And fair play to the CSA for resolving this for me.

PreludeForTimeFeelers

StretchedElf wrote: »

Spoke to CSA and asked if expenses can be treated as deductable income for a DEO. The advisor immediately said no, but then seemed to become unsure and said she would call me back once she had checked.

I really hope I can sort this out. I incur about £30-40 expenses every week. I can't afford to lose that.

Edit: CSA have spoken to my employer and instructed them not to include expenses in the deduction and that they must pay me the protected income rate PLUS expenses. Result! And fair play to the CSA for resolving this for me.

Sounds like you just had an overzealous payroll clerk, I've had to deal with a few in my time!

Honest_broker07

OR a dodgy payroll system