Title
Contents
Acknowledgements 6
The Authors 7
Glossary 8
Summary 10
1. Introduction 15
1.1 Background to the research 15
1.2 Research aims and objectives 16
1.3 Methodology 16
1.4 Interviewee profile 17
1.5 Presentation of the data 18
1.6 Report structure 18
2. The current Deduction from Earnings Order operational context 20
2.1 Introduction 20
2.2 Employers with experience of Deduction from Earnings Order operation 21
2.3 Approaches towards handling Deduction from Earnings Orders 23
2.3.1 Perceptions of the cost of DEO set up and operation 23
2.3.2 Ongoing administration 26
2.3.3 Perceptions of time needed to set up and administer DEOs 28
2.3.4 Employers' approach to handling the cost of DEOs 32
2.4 Improvements to the current system 32
3. DEOs and the primary method of collecting child maintenance (compulsory DEOs) 36
3.1 Introduction 36
3.2 General attitudes towards compulsory Deduction from Earnings Orders 37
3.2.1 Immediate issues or concerns about compulsory DEOs 38
3.3 Employers' concerns around setting up compulsory Deduction from Earnings Orders 40
3.4 Resources required for set up and administration 41
3.4.1 Set up and administration costs 42
3.5 Current IT set up 45
3.6 Privacy 47
3.7 Human resource issues 50
3.8 Other issues 52
4. Information sources 53
4.1 Introduction 53
4.2 Preferred information sources 53
4.3 Topics for communication 54
5. Conclusions 56
5.1 General concept of Deduction from Earnings Orders 56
5.2 Perceived resource implications 56
5.3 Micro organisations 57
5.4 Sectoral issues 57
5.5 IT systems 58
5.6 Human resources and personal interactions 58
Appendix A. Deduction from Earnings Orders - Employers survey (marked-up questionnaire) 59
Appendix B. Methodology 94
Table 2.1 Does your organisation operate, or has it ever operated, any DEOs on behalf of employees? 22
Table 2.2 Employer perceptions of the cost of setting up DEOs, by size and sector 26
Table 2.3 Employer perceptions of the cost of administering DEOs, by size and sector 27
Table 2.4 Employer perceptions of the time needed to set up DEOs, by size and sector 29
Table 2.5 Employer perceptions of the time needed to administer DEOs, by size and sector 31
Table 3.1 Costs of setting up and administering DEOs 43
Table 3.2 Time needed to set up and administer DEOs 45
Table B.1 Profile of employers interviewed 96
Figure 1.1 Size profile of companies interviewed, by sector 18
Figure 2.1 Number of DEOs in operation, by employer size 23
Figure 2.2 Can you quantify how much it would cost to set up and administer a DEO? 24
Figure 2.3 Perceptions of cost of setting up DEOs, by employer size 25
Figure 2.4 Can you quantify how much time would be needed to set up and administer a DEO? 28
Figure 2.5 Which, if any, areas of the current DEO system would you like to see improved? 34
Figure 2.6 Suggested improvements to current DEO system 35
Figure 3.1 To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Collecting child maintenance through pay is a ... 38
Figure 3.2 Initial concerns over the implementation of mandatory DEOs, by previous DEO experience 39
Figure 3.3 Employer concerns over setting up DEO payments 41
Figure 3.4 Can you quantify how much it would cost to set up and administer a DEO? 42
Figure 3.5 Can you quantify how much time it would take to set up and administer a DEO? 44
Figure 3.6 Use of Sage across company sizes 46
Figure 3.7 Use of custom built electronic payroll packages 46
Figure 3.8 Privacy issues 48
Figure 3.9 Micro companies views of privacy issues 49
Figure 3.10 Expected impact on employers' approach to recruitment, by company size 51
Figure 4.1 How useful would you find the following ...? 54
Figure 4.2 Topics for more information (top 5) 55