The Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981

Power of court to make attachment of earnings order N.I.

100.—(1) An attachment of earnings may be made by a court of summary jurisdiction in accordance with Articles 101 to 108 for the enforcement of an order for the periodical payment of money such as is mentioned in Article 98(11) or of an order which is enforceable as if it were such an order including any such order which has been rescinded, revoked or discharged, if any arrears are recoverable under it.

(2) In Articles 101 to 108—

• “collecting officer” means that officer as defined by[F1 Article 85(4)] or, as the case requires, as described in section 15(2) of the Maintenance and Affiliation Orders Act (Northern Ireland) 1966;

• “debtor” and “creditor” include respectively, in relation to an attachment of earnings order which is, or is to be, made to secure payments under an order (the original order) such as is referred to in paragraph (1), the person liable to make the payments under the original order and the person entitled to receive those payments;

• “the employer” means the person who is required by an attachment of earnings order to make deductions from earnings paid by him to the debtor;

• Definition rep. by 1995 NI 2

(3) For the purposes of those Articles the relationship of employer and employee shall be treated as subsisting between two persons if one of them, as a principal and not as a servant or agent, pays to the other any sums defined as earnings by paragraphs (4) and (5).

(4) For the purposes of those Articles, subject to paragraph (5), “earnings” are any sums payable to a person—

(a) by way of wages or salary (including any fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or other emoluments payable in addition to wages or salary or payable under a contract of service);

(b) by way of pension (including an annuity in respect of past services, whether or not rendered to the person paying the annuity, and including periodical payments by way of compensation for the loss, abolition or relinquishment, or diminution in the emoluments, of any office or employment).

(5) The following shall not be treated as earnings—

(a) sums payable by any public department of a territory outside the United Kingdom;

(b) pay or allowances payable to the debtor as a member of Her Majesty's forces;

[F2 (ba) a tax credit (within the meaning of the Tax Credits Act 2002);]

(c) pension, allowances or benefit payable under any of the following statutory provisions relating to social security—

(i) the Family Income Supplements Act (Northern Ireland) 1971F3 ;

(ii) the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Acts 1975 to 1977F4 ;

(iii) the Industrial Injuries and Diseases (Northern Ireland Old Cases) Act 1975F5 ;

(iv) the Child Benefit (Northern Ireland) Order 1975F6 ;

(v) the Supplementary Benefits (Northern Ireland) Order 1977;

(d) guarantees minimum pension within the meaning of the Social Security Pensions (Northern Ireland) Order 1975F7 provided by an occupational pension scheme;

(e) pension or allowances payable in respect of disablement or disability.

F1 1993 NI 6

F2 2002 c. 21

F3 1971 c. 8 (NI)

F4 1975 c. 15, 1975 NI 15, 1977 NI 11

F5 1975 c. 17

F6 1975 NI 16

F7 1975 NI 15