An attachment of earnings is an instruction to deduct money from an employee's pay and send it to a third party, usually to clear a debt. You do not have a choice about operating one, and you can be fined for ignoring it. This article explains the main types, how a Direct Earnings Attachment is calculated, the protected earnings rule, and what to do when an employee has more than one order.
What kinds of order might arrive?
Several bodies can require you to deduct from pay, and they follow different rules.
A Direct Earnings Attachment, or DEA, comes from the Department for Work and Pensions to recover overpaid benefits. It is not a court order, and DWP can issue it directly to you as the employer.
An Attachment of Earnings Order comes from a civil court, typically for a county court judgment, and states either the amount to deduct or a protected earnings rate below which you must not deduct.
A Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order comes from a local authority under its own regulations, with its own percentage tables.
A Deduction from Earnings Order comes from the Child Maintenance Service.
In Scotland the equivalent is an Earnings Arrestment, operated under Scottish rules with its own tables.
Each order names the employee, and you should check the National Insurance number matches your record before you deduct anything.
How is a Direct Earnings Attachment calculated?
DWP tells you whether to apply the standard rate or the higher rate. You then work out the employee's net earnings for the pay period, find the band, and apply the percentage.
Net earnings for this purpose means gross pay less income tax, less Class 1 National Insurance, less superannuation contributions. It is not the same as take-home pay, because other deductions do not reduce it.
Standard rate
| Net earnings, weekly | Net earnings, monthly | Deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £100 | Up to £430 | Nil |
| £100.01 to £160 | £430.01 to £690 | 3% |
| £160.01 to £220 | £690.01 to £950 | 5% |
| £220.01 to £270 | £950.01 to £1,160 | 7% |
| £270.01 to £375 | £1,160.01 to £1,615 | 11% |
| £375.01 to £520 | £1,615.01 to £2,240 | 15% |
| Over £520 | Over £2,240 | 20% |
Higher rate
| Net earnings, weekly | Net earnings, monthly | Deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Up to £100 | Up to £430 | 5% |
| £100.01 to £160 | £430.01 to £690 | 6% |
| £160.01 to £220 | £690.01 to £950 | 10% |
| £220.01 to £270 | £950.01 to £1,160 | 14% |
| £270.01 to £375 | £1,160.01 to £1,615 | 22% |
| £375.01 to £520 | £1,615.01 to £2,240 | 30% |
| Over £520 | Over £2,240 | 40% |
There are daily bands too, for employees paid daily. The percentage applies to the whole of net earnings, not to the slice above the band, which is different from how income tax works and is worth checking if a figure looks wrong.
What is the protected earnings rule?
The employee must be left with at least 60% of their net earnings. If the DEA, taken together with other deductions of this kind, would take more than 40% of net earnings, you reduce the DEA so that the 60% floor is respected.
Where an employee has other orders that take priority, apply those first, then test the DEA against what remains.
What if the employee has more than one order?
Priority is decided by the type of order and by when it was made, not by which arrived in your post first. Deduction from Earnings Orders for child maintenance and Council Tax orders generally rank ahead of a DEA, and some court orders rank by date of issue.
The rules differ between England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and getting the order wrong means deducting the wrong amounts for everyone involved. Where an employee has two or more orders of different types, check the guidance for each order or take advice before running the payroll rather than after.
Can I charge for administering it?
Yes. For a Direct Earnings Attachment you may keep £1.00 from the employee's pay for each deduction you make, towards your administrative costs. This charge may be taken even where it brings the employee below the National Minimum Wage, which is a rare exception to the minimum wage rules.
What are my obligations and what happens if I ignore one?
You must start deducting from the first pay day that falls at least 22 days after the date of the notice, pay the amounts over by the 19th of the month following deduction, and tell the issuing body if the employee leaves or if you cannot make a deduction.
Failure to operate a DEA can lead to a fine of up to £1,000 per employee. Ignoring a court order carries its own penalties. This is not an area where a delay while you work out what to do is safe, so acknowledge the order and ask the issuing body if anything is unclear.
What should I tell the employee?
You must show the deduction on the payslip. Beyond that, the debt is between the employee and the body that issued the order, and you are not a party to it. If the employee disputes the amount or the debt itself, they must take it up with DWP, the court or the local authority directly. You cannot vary or stop an order because the employee asks you to, and you should not stop deducting until the issuing body tells you to.
Where can I find official guidance and further help?
GOV.UK publishes an employer's guide to Direct Earnings Attachments with the full rate tables including the daily bands, and separate guidance for attachment of earnings orders made by the courts and for Scottish earnings arrestments. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) can advise on the employment relationship where an order causes difficulty. Where an employee has several orders at once, or where an order looks wrong, contact the issuing body rather than making a judgement in payroll.