Attachment of Earnings Orders: When Wages Get Deducted

Three main routes:

• County Court — for CCJs. After a judgment, the creditor applies on Form N337 (£119 fee). The court sends you Form N56 asking for income, outgoings, and expenses. The order is made based on that information.
• Magistrates' Court — for council tax. The council obtains a Liability Order in the Magistrates' Court. They can then apply for an attachment of earnings without further hearing under the Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 — the deduction rate is set by table based on your gross earnings band.
• Magistrates' Court — for fines. After conviction, an unpaid fine can be enforced by attachment of earnings under the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980. The court sets the rate.

The employer is told the order details. The employer must comply or face a £400 fine. The deductions appear on your payslip clearly labelled.

For CCJ-based orders, the court considers your income and outgoings and sets a NDR and PER. You can negotiate the rate at the application stage by completing Form N56 accurately.

For council tax orders, the deduction follows a fixed statutory table based on your gross weekly or monthly earnings. The rate rises in bands — from approximately 3% on lower earnings to approximately 17% on the highest band. There is no negotiation; the deduction is calculated automatically by your employer based on your actual earnings in each pay period.

For fines, the court sets the rate based on your means information at the time of the order. You can apply to vary if circumstances change.

Protections: the order cannot reduce your earnings below the PER (for CCJ orders) or below the National Living Wage equivalent for some council tax orders. Statutory maternity, paternity, adoption and sick pay are usually excluded from "earnings" for these purposes.

If your circumstances change — illness, redundancy, increased rent, a new dependant — you can apply to vary the order on Form N56. The court considers updated income and outgoings. The application fee is £14 (waived if on benefits).

For council tax orders, you cannot vary in the same way — the rate follows the statutory table. But you can ask the council to convert the debt to a payment plan and stop the attachment if the plan is agreed. Many councils will agree if you propose a sensible amount.

For fines, you can apply at the Magistrates' Court using Means Form MC56. The court can vary or convert to instalments.

The order is automatically discharged when the debt is paid in full or you stop work and have no new employer.

If you change employer, you must notify the court within 7 days. Failure is a contempt of court and can lead to a fine. The new employer will be served with a new attachment of earnings order.

If you become self-employed, the attachment of earnings order cannot apply (there is no employer to deduct from). The creditor must use another enforcement route — bailiff visit, charging order, or third party debt order. The court will discharge the original order.

If you are made redundant and start claiming benefits, the order is paused. Universal Credit and most other benefits cannot be attached except by specific regulations (e.g., a DEA — Direct Earnings Attachment — for benefit overpayments, or attachment of UC for certain debts).

If you have multiple attachment of earnings orders, only the highest priority runs at any one time. A "consolidated" attachment of earnings order can combine several debts.

The PER is set to leave you enough to live on. It is calculated based on:

• Your reasonable household outgoings (rent, council tax, utilities, food, child costs, transport).
• The needs of any dependants.
• Any other priority debts you are paying.

The court should follow the StepChange or Common Financial Statement standard expenditure figures for typical households. Your N56 form should set out specific figures from these standard expenditure schedules. If the court sets a PER you believe is too low, apply to vary.

Earnings exempt from attachment: statutory maternity, paternity, adoption pay; statutory sick pay above the basic threshold; bonuses agreed before the order was made; and certain advance payments.