Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981

Preliminary definitions N.I.

1.  Subject to paragraph 9, paragraphs 2 to 6 have effect for defining and explaining, for purposes of this Schedule, expressions used therein. N.I.

2.  “Pay-day”, in relation to earnings paid to a debtor, means an occasion on which they are paid. N.I.

3.  “Attachable earnings”, in relation to a pay-day, are the earnings which remain payable to the debtor on that day after deduction by the employer of— N.I.

(a) income tax;

(b) primary Class 1 contributions under Part I of the Social Security (Northern Ireland) Act 1975 [1975 c.15] ;

[F1 (c) amounts deductible under any statutory provision, or in pursuance of a request in writing by the debtor, for the purposes of a superannuation scheme, namely any statutory provision, rules, deed or other instrument providing for the payment of annuities or lump sums—

(i) to the persons with respect to whom the instrument has effect on their retirement at a specified age or on becoming incapacitated at some earlier age, or

(ii) to the personal representatives or the [F2 surviving spouses, surviving civil partners,] relatives or dependants of such persons on their death or otherwise,

whether with or without any further or other benefits.]

F1 1988 NI 7

F2 Words in Sch. 1 para. 3(c)(ii) substituted (13.1.2020) by The Marriage (Same-sex Couples) and Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/1514), regs. 1(2), 139 (with regs. 6-9)

4.  “Debtor” includes, in relation to the attachment of earnings to enforce a maintenance order, the person liable to make payments under the order. N.I.

5.  “Maintenance order” means an order such as is mentioned in Article 98( a). N.I.

6.  On any pay-day— N.I.

(a) “the normal deduction” is arrived at by applying the normal deduction rate (as specified in the relevant attachment of earnings order) with respect to the period since the last pay-day or, if it is the first pay-day of the debtor's employment with the employer, since the employment began; and

(b) “the protected earnings” are arrived at by applying the protected earnings rate (as so specified) with respect to the said period.