Hi Janis – yes, when there is a (non-predicted) change in the rate of the award the automatic arrears no longer provide a meaningful figure.
That’s because they are based on a whole year at a given rate. Where there has been an unforseen change in the award, perhaps leading to a reduction to avoid overpayment, then manual arrears are the only way. In this specific type of case the ideal calc to use is the “Auto-arrears skipped” version. This gives priority to any manually entered arrears.
In the case of “Predicted Changes” – i.e. child reaches age 1 or 16 or 19 during year, then the “split award” quickcalc includes provision for this and WILL produce meaningful auto arrears.
(What are we talking about?: Quickcalc tools – [url=http://www.potential.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/quickcalc/index.htm]website here[/url])
