Aged 16 Apprenticeship does Ex have to pay?

chipsdog

Daughter aged 16 has just started an apprenticeship with NHS Pharmacy Technician, attend college 10 hours a week – does my ex still have to pay maintenance?

Guest101

Maintenance is paid whilst child benefit is payable (unless your divorce order otherwise)

NBLondon

Yep - check the terms of the order.


If it says something like "while still in full-time education" then the answer is possibly no - an apprentice is not a full-time student; they are an employee. If it says "while in school/college" - you could end up with a debate. Given that an apprentice is paid (albeit abysmally in many cases) there might be a reduction.

chipsdog

the order says:

"Payment shall end on the child reaching eighteen, or ceasing full-time secondary or tertiary education to the end of first degree course, whichever is the later payments to continue during any period of up to 16 months from the date on which the secondary education is concluded and for so long as the child shall intend to commence tertiary education at the end of that period.

NBLondon wrote: »

Yep - check the terms of the order.


If it says something like "while still in full-time education" then the answer is possibly no - an apprentice is not a full-time student; they are an employee. If it says "while in school/college" - you could end up with a debate. Given that an apprentice is paid (albeit abysmally in many cases) there might be a reduction.

Guest101

chipsdog wrote: »

the order says:

"Payment shall end on the child reaching eighteen, or ceasing full-time secondary or tertiary education to the end of first degree course, whichever is the later payments to continue during any period of up to 16 months from the date on which the secondary education is concluded and for so long as the child shall intend to commence tertiary education at the end of that period.

That is terrible wording! I suspect it will be challenged in the future.


Either way, looks like it's 18.

Alice_Walker

chipsdog wrote: »

the order says:

"Payment shall end on the child reaching eighteen, or ceasing full-time secondary or tertiary education to the end of first degree course, whichever is the later payments to continue during any period of up to 16 months from the date on which the secondary education is concluded and for so long as the child shall intend to commence tertiary education at the end of that period.

That's terribly phrased, was there some more punctuation in there? Although even splitting it up it is contradictory.

Can you recall what was agreed in mediation/ court etc? It may make more sense knowing the intent behind it.

TBagpuss

That order reads that maintenance is payable until she is 18.

If she went to Uni it would be paid until she finishes her degree and if she had a gap year then maintenance is paid during the gap year and the subsequent uni course

Savvy_Sue

TBagpuss wrote: »

That order reads that maintenance is payable until she is 18.

If she went to Uni it would be paid until she finishes her degree and if she had a gap year then maintenance is paid during the gap year and the subsequent uni course

It reads to me that maintenance would be payable for so long as the daughter said "I'm going to go to University at some point"!

OP, is it your daughter's intention to go to Uni post the apprenticeship?

ariarnia

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

It reads to me that maintenance would be payable for so long as the daughter said "I'm going to go to University at some point"!

I don't think so.

I read these two clauses together:

Payments to continue during any period of up to 16 months from the date on which the secondary education is concluded and for so long as the child shall intend to commence tertiary education at the end of that period.

To mean the child can defer tertiary education for up-to 16 months - not indefinitely.

There seems no clarity with regards if they were to start a degree and then defer mid-course.

Either way, I agree in this instance payments would continue to 18 - unless the child decides to start tertiary education prior to turning 18, at which point payments continue until they reach the end of first degree course.

maman

TBagpuss wrote: »

That order reads that maintenance is payable until she is 18.

If she went to Uni it would be paid until she finishes her degree and if she had a gap year then maintenance is paid during the gap year and the subsequent uni course

I think that's what's intended, the extra four months being allowed for the vacation time, but it's very poorly worded.


What we don't know is whether the father is trying to stop paying. Maybe the OP was just trying to find out her 'rights'.

NBLondon

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

OP, is it your daughter's intention to go to Uni post the apprenticeship?

This...


The daughter has left full-time secondary education - but can still be paid for the next 16 months if she intends to go on to tertiary education. So if it's a 12 or 15 month apprenticeship that would/could lead on to a degree then it should continue. If it's an 18 month or longer apprenticeship - maybe not - because they would have then left full-time secondary education and could not go into tertiary in time.


The woolly bit is that it doesn't specify how to prove the intent? If she has a place and goes on a gap year then clearly she does intend to go on. If she is doing an apprenticeship in place of A levels, then she may intend to go on. If she is doing an apprenticeship intending to go on to a permanent job in that field - one could argue the conditions for ending maintenance have been met.