Attachment of Earnings Deduction Rates – Minimum and Maximum

If you’re worried about the attachment of earnings process, you are in the right place. Every month, over 12,000 people visit this site for guidance on debt topics.

In this easy-to-understand guide, you will discover:

•  The process creditors use to enforce CCJ debt.
•  What an Attachment of Earnings is, and how creditors get an order.
•  How you might be able to reduce your repayments or even stop an Attachment of Earnings.
•  The most recent rates for Attachment of Earnings and what income is not part of the calculation.
•  What happens if you switch jobs or if you have to pay council tax Attachment of Earnings rates.

Our team has direct experience with debt-related issues, so we really do understand your situation. We’re here to offer clear, helpful advice to help you better navigate through this process.

How do creditors enforce CCJ debt?

If a creditor takes legal action against you to pay a debt and you still don’t pay, the creditor might be able to take further action, namely:

1. Employ bailiffs to collect the debt or seize goods
2. Have a Charging Order added to a property you own, which would prevent you from selling the property without paying off the debt first
3. Ask for an Attachment of Earnings Order

How do creditors get an Attachment of Earnings Order?

Creditors make an application for the order to the court, which then sends you a notification of the application in the post. You’ll receive an N56 Form, also called a Statement of Means. 

This form needs to be completed and returned to the court within eight days. It asks you to give information about your finances, including evidence of recent payslips. Ignoring this form can result in a court summons and even prosecution.

Can you stop an Attachment of Earnings?

Yes, it’s possible to stop an Attachment of Earnings by ticking a box to suspend the order on the Statement of Means form. 

You must give a good reason why you wish for the order to be suspended. Debt charities can explain what constitutes a good excuse for you. If it is suspended, you will be asked to pay the creditor directly yourself, but if you miss payments the order will be granted.

The benefit of stopping the order even though you have to make payments anyway is that your employer won’t need to make the payments to the court for you, and they therefore won’t know about the debt.

Attachment of Earnings Vs Direct Earnings Attachment

A Direct Earnings Attachment is similar to an Attachment of Earnings Order but they’re not the same. 

A Direct Earnings Attachment works in the same way but is implemented without an application or court hearing, but it can only be used to collect only arrears benefit overpayments, tax and tax credit overpayments. 

Another type of order is used to automatically collect child maintenance arrears. This is called a Deduction from Earnings Order. 

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How much do you pay with an Attachment of Earnings?

The amount you pay from your wage is fixed by the court and depends on how much you earn. 

You must receive a minimum level of income before any money can be deducted from your wages, this is called the Protected Earnings Rate (PER). This is to ensure you can maintain essential living standards before repaying the debt. 

Your employer can never deduct any money that would leave you with less than the PER. 

What income is excluded from the Attachment of Earnings?

Not all of your income will be included in the calculations used to determine how much you have to pay. For example, the following won’t be considered:

• Statutory maternity pay
• Statutory paternity pay
• Statutory redundancy pay
• Statutory adoption pay

Statutory sick pay is considered income in an Attachment of Earnings. But if this is your only income it’s likely to fall below the threshold and you won’t have to pay any of it to the creditor. 

What if you switch jobs?

You must tell your new employer within seven days or you’re committing an offence. Your new employer will then send the correct amount to the court. 

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What is a consolidated Attachment of Earnings?

A consolidated Attachment of Earnings Order can be used when more than one creditor has successfully applied to collect a debt from your wages. 

This way, only one lump sum payment will be made from your salary, but there can be additional court admin fees in the process making it unworthwhile. 

Avoid more arrears and enforcement action

No matter how bad you think your debt situation is, there is always a way out and there is always help to hand. 

Debt charities provide an invaluable service where they will assess your situation and recommend a debt solution. I strongly advise anyone to use these services if they’re worried about debts and arrears.

You can learn about some of the debt solutions you might be recommended on my How to Get Out of Debt page. 

When does an Attachment of Earnings start?

Unless your next payday is within the next seven days, the first salary deduction will be your next payday.