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Voluntary deductions from earnings (VDEA)
Voluntary deductions from earnings arrangements
A non-resident parent may request that child maintenance is paid directly from their earnings. This is called a voluntary deductions from earnings arrangement. It works in a similar way to other voluntary deductions like union subscriptions and loan repayments.
How do I set up a VDEA?
If one of your employees wants to set up a VDEA, we will write to you to ask
you to set it up. Your employee will know how much you will deduct from their earnings, as we will have already told
them. If you are willing and able to set it up, you should talk to your employee and tell them that you are going to.
You are legally obliged under the Employment Rights Act to get their consent. At this point you should also discuss
and agree any extra amount that you will take to cover your administrative costs. With the letter we will send you
our leaflet What is my role in
helping my employees pay child maintenance? 
(PDF: 821Kb). This leaflet,
together with the letter, tells you what you need to do next.
What if I don't want to set up the VDEA?
If for any reason you're unwilling or unable to set up the arrangement, or you cannot agree on a sum to cover your administrative costs, you may choose not to. If this is the case you must tell your employee. You must also complete the form we sent you with the letter and return it to us. We will then contact your employee to discuss and agree another method of payment.
What is the difference between a VDEA and a DEO?
- A DEO is something we impose when other payment methods haven't worked, but your employee can choose a VDEA
- You have to set up a DEO if we ask you to, but you can choose not to set up a VDEA
- A DEO is a priority deduction, which means it has to be taken from your employee's wages before most other kinds of deduction. A VDEA is not a priority deduction, and there are no rules about which voluntary deduction you should take first
- The protected earnings rate or proportion does not apply to voluntary deduction from earnings - there is no minimum amount that your employee is always allowed to keep after the VDEA amount is deducted
- Any shortfall between the amount of the VDEA and the amount that can be taken is not carried forward to the next pay period. You do not need to tell us if there is a shortfall
- You can choose to take an amount towards your administration costs, but this must be agreed with your employee.
What if I also have to take money from my employee's pay for other reasons?
The VDEA has the same priority as other voluntary deductions (advances, season ticket loans etc.). This means they may not always be deducted from an employee's pay if there are higher priority deductions, like attachment from earnings orders (England and Wales) or earnings arrestments (Scotland). The law does not give the VDEA a higher priority over any other voluntary deduction. If there is not enough left over to pay the VDEA, do not carry the shortfall over to the next month.
We will have notified you and your employee in writing of the amount that is to be deducted. If there is not enough money left to deduct the full amount you must deduct what is available. Do not carry any shortfall over to the next pay period. We will take action to recover it in another way.
Can my employee be left with little or no take home pay?
Yes, this can happen, but your employee will have agreed the amount of the voluntary deduction from earnings and requested this method of payment.
When should I pay the VDEA?
VDEA payments should be sent to us regularly, at the same time each week or month.
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