Section 18: Attachment of earnings order
This Section defines the attachment of earnings order, namely that a person who employs the debtor must deduct specified amounts from the debtor’s wages and pay them to the court in order to discharge the outstanding amount (Section 18 (1)). As with the deduction from benefits order, this order only applies to those aged 18 years or older (Section 18(2)).
The Section sets out what information the attachment of earnings order must contain and allows for regulations to add to this list (Section 18(4)). The Section provides a formulation for the employer/ employee relationship (Section 18(5)) and that a definition of “earnings” will be provided in regulations (Section 18(6)). Further information regarding the attachment of earnings order may be found at Schedule 1 (Section 18(7)).
