CAB I’m worried the pandemic will reduce my child maintenance
I’m separated from my ex-partner and receive payments through the Child Maintenance Service for our three children.
My ex-partner’s workplace is closed and so their income has dropped. I’ve also got less money at the moment as I was self-employed.
I’m really worried that my ex will get the maintenance payments reduced just now.
We have had a number of questions from people about whether the person paying child maintenance will be able to have their contributions re-assessed and lowered because they have been furloughed.
Child maintenance payments are designed for the long term and unless your ex- partner ( the “non- resident parent”) can show that their income has dropped by over 25 per cent since their last assessment, their payments will not change.
For most people this means that the maintenance payments will be unaffected as furlough is only a 20 per cent drop in income, but for a few people - someone who usually does a lot of voluntary overtime, for example - their income may drop 25 per cent and they can ask for their payments to be reassessed.
Come back to us for a benefit check, and to see what assistance you might get to cover your lost income from selfemployment.
I moved out of my private tenancy in March, fortunately just before lockdown. However, the landlord of my old flat is not replying to my messages about return of deposit. This is a lot of money for me, which I could really do with right now. What can I do about it?
All deposits in Scotland should be paid into an approved tenancy deposit scheme within 30 days of the tenancy beginning and your landlord should have given you formal notification of the deposit scheme.
If they didn’t notify you whom your deposit was stored with, as an initial step we would suggest contacting each deposit scheme to ask if they hold your deposit. Details of the schemes can be found on the Citizens Advice Scotland website.
If your landlord has not followed the correct procedure with deposit protection and particularly if it turns out that they did not use one of these schemes, this is a breach of Tenancy Deposit Regulations.
In this situation you can apply to the Housing and Property Chamber, where we have helped tenants receive compensation awards of up to three times the amount of the deposit.
Please contact the bureau for assistance. Be aware though, a claim must be lodged within three months of the tenancy ending.
I have been furloughed by my employer and have two questions about this. I want to know how the monthly amount I am to receive is calculated because I normally earn different amounts each month? Also, what happens if I choose to take the holidays I have built up while on furlough?
As your pay varies, your 80 per cent payment should be the higher of the amount you received for the same period last year or your average monthly income since last year.
All of the payments you would usually expect to receive under your contract of your employment should be used to calculate your furlough wage, including bonuses or commission written in to your contract, and overtime you are required to work.
What can’t be included are tips or payments you sometimes receive at the discretion of your employer.
It should be possible to take holiday days while on furlough, and these should be paid at your normal rate of pay.
So if you take a week’s holiday, you should receive your normal pay for that week. If you take a day’s holiday, the amount you are due would increase for that day only.