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Money is being taken from your wages

An attachment of earnings order requires your employer to deduct money before you are paid. Here is exactly what to do, what they can and cannot do, and where to get free help today.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamReviewed by The My Debt Cleared editorial team Last reviewed 12 August 2026Next review 12 February 2027 Editorial policy
An attachment of earnings order requires your employer to deduct money before you are paid. It follows a County Court Judgment that has not been paid. You can apply to vary the order if the deduction leaves you unable to meet essential living costs — and you should, because the court sets a protected earnings rate that is meant to cover exactly that.
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You never have to pay for debt advice. MoneyHelper (government-backed), StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice all give free, confidential advice with no obligation. We would rather you got good advice somewhere than bad advice from anyone.

What to do now

  1. Establish which order it is: a county court attachment of earnings, a council tax attachment, or a Direct Earnings Attachment from the DWP. The rules differ.
  2. For a county court order, apply on form N244 to vary it if the deduction is unaffordable.
  3. Provide a full income and expenditure statement using the Standard Financial Statement, which courts recognise.
  4. For a council tax attachment, the deduction rates are set in regulations — check the rate applied against the table for your earnings band.
  5. For a Direct Earnings Attachment, ask the DWP to reconsider the rate on hardship grounds.
  6. If the underlying judgment is wrong or the debt was statute-barred, apply to set the judgment aside — get advice first.

What else you need to know

Your employer will know. That is unavoidable with an attachment of earnings, and it is the reason many people prefer to negotiate a voluntary arrangement with the creditor before it reaches this stage. Employers are not permitted to dismiss you for having one, and doing so may be unfair dismissal.

Where to get help today, free

You can get free, impartial debt advice

You never have to pay for debt advice. MoneyHelper (government-backed), StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice all give free, confidential advice with no obligation. We would rather you got good advice somewhere than bad advice from anyone.

If you are in crisis and struggling to cope, Samaritans can be reached free on 116 123, at any hour, from any phone.

Once the immediate pressure is off

Understanding your longer-term options is the thing that stops this happening again. Eight questions, and we will show you what applies where you live.

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Sources and further reading

  1. Citizens Advice, Debt and money
  2. National Debtline
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