Maintenance Attachment

Maintenance Attachment of Earnings Order

This help deals with maintenance and fines imposed by magistrates courts before 5 April 2004 using the Protected Earning Rate (PER) and Normal Deduction Rate (NDR) and all civil debts. Fines imposed after 5 April 2004 are deducted by means of fixed tables as set out in the Courts Act 2003 and are covered in chapter (see magistrates court attachment help file for more information)

The Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”) allows a court to order you, or your company, to make deductions from the earnings of an employee to recover unpaid maintenance (High Court, county courts and magistrates’ courts)

Maintenance is a priority order and take ‘priority’ among themselves and other priority orders by date they were issued.

How to operate an AEO

An AEO tells the Employer:

• The total debt owed by your employee (unless the order is for ongoing maintenance)

•, How often you should make a deduction (usually weekly or monthly).

• The amount you should usually deduct each week or month (the Normal Deduction Rate, NDR)

• The amount below which you must not make a deduction (the PER, Protected Earning Rate).

  Note: If your employee works at a different location to your office, the work can be done by a payroll administrator or a branch manager and you can ask the court to send further correspondence to an alternative address.

 • Deduct (if possible) the amount specified in the order

 • Send the deduction to the address stated in the order

 • Pay the remainder (if there are no other deductions to be made) to your employee

Under the 1971 Act Employers must:

• Write to the court within ten days of receiving an order if you do not employ the person named in it

• Take all reasonable steps to comply with an order or a varied order

• Write to the Courts within ten days if the employee leaves your employment – a telephone call is not sufficient. An AEO lapses from the pay day coinciding with or following termination of employment.

Employers must also:

• Write to courts that made the order within seven days if you learn that a new employee has an existing order against him, giving details of your employee’s earnings and anticipated earnings.

Note: Failing to comply with an AEO, or failing to give the required notice within the time limits, are offences under the 1971 Act, subject to a fine that can be imposed on you or your organisation or a term of imprisonment up to 14 days. If you have any questions relating to the Order, or require clarification, you must contact the court or CAPS immediately.

The court will tell Employers in writing if it:

• Changes (varies) the NDR or PER. A magistrates’ court (for a maintenance order) may vary the PER for a period of up to four weeks. You should revert to the original PER after the period stated in the order

• Discharges (cancels) the order, or if the order has been paid in full. You must stop deductions as soon as possible and certainly within seven days of receiving the notice. Any money deducted should be sent to the court at once. You should check the amount of the final deduction. It may be less than the usual deduction, for example when it completes payment of the sum due.

To set up an Maintenance Attachment go to Payslips > Double click Employee

1)    Select employee to apply the Maintenance Attachment to
Go to Payslips>, then double click on the employees name for whom you have received the order for.

2)    Deductions
Under deductions click the Add button

3)    Attachment of Earnings order
From the dropdown, select Attachment Orders

4)    Add Attachment Order
Click Add attachment Order, and from the dropdown select Maintenance Attachment of Earnings Order

Setting up the Maintenance Attachment

TYPE AND DATES

• Description
  Enter a description for the Maintenance Attachment

• Reference
  Enter the reference number, you will find this on the letter telling you to apply the Maintenance Attachment for the employee.

DATES

• Date Made
  Enter the date the Maintenance Attachment was made.
•  Date to apply from
  The date to apply the Maintenance Attachment from.
• Date to stop
  The Maintenance Attachment should only be stopped once the full amount of the order has been paid, Or if you received notification from the Courts to stop the AOE.

AMOUNTS AND STATUS

To access this screen, click the Amounts and Status tab.

•  Weekly / Monthly amount
  Enter the weekly/ monthly amount to be deducted. This will be shown as the NDR (Normal Deduction Rate) on the order from the courts.
• Protected Earnings
  The order will also state what the PER (Protected Earnings Rate) are for the employee, enter the PER in the box provided.
• Total amount to be paid
  The order will show what the total amount to be paid is. Enter in the box provided.
• Admin Charge
  You the employer can deduct £1 as an administration charge for deducting the attachment.

 STATUS

•  Cumulative amount paid at start
  If the employee has already paid some of the attachment (i.e. in another or previous employment) enter the amount here.
•  Cumulative amount paid in this employment
  If the employee has already paid part or you have done a mid year set up, enter the amount already paid here.

Click Save

BrightPay will now apply the attachment of earnings order.