Current Maintenance Arrestment (CMA)

WHAT IS A CMA

A current maintenance arrestment, as the name suggests, may be used to enforce an ongoing maintenance obligation. Like an earnings arrestment, the current maintenance arrestment is served on the debtor’s employer and results in deductions from earnings. Maintenance is a periodical sum payable under a maintenance order. A maintenance order may be any one of a list of orders specified by an Act, such as an order for payment of a periodical allowance on divorce or on the granting of a decelerator of nullity of marriage. A current maintenance arrestment cannot be used until the debtor is in arrears of a sum equivalent to one installment of maintenance.

The sum to be deducted under a current maintenance arrestment is calculated differently from those deducted under an earnings arrestment. It is based upon a daily rate of maintenance which is multiplied by the number of days in the appropriate pay period, i.e. 7 days where the employee is paid weekly. However, there is a limit to the amounts which may be deducted, equal to £10 per day.  This is on the basis that the debtor must be left with a fixed subsistence level of earnings. As a result, the total daily rate may not be recovered by the creditor. As is the case with earnings arrestments, the employer may deduct a fee of £1.00 from the debtor’s earnings every time a deduction is made under a current maintenance arrestment.

A current maintenance arrestment continues in force until the obligation to pay maintenance ceases or is superseded by another order, the creditor recalls or abandons the arrestment, or the debtor changes employer.

Attaching an Order to an Employee within BrightPay
 

1) Go to Payroll, and select the employee from the listing

2) Under Additions & Deductions, click the Add button

3) Select Attachment Orders…

4) Click ‘Add Attachment Order’ and select the appropriate Attachment Order from the listing.

Setting up the Order

TYPES AND DATES

1) Enter a description for the Attachment Order.

2) Enter the reference number of the Attachment Order, which can be found on the documentation received.

3) Enter the date the Order was received.

4) Enter the date to apply the Order from.

5) Enter the date to stop – the Order should only be stopped once the full amount of the Order has been paid or you have received notification from the Courts to stop it.

AMOUNTS AND STATUS

1) Priority – this box is ticked, by default. AEOs for maintenance or fines take precedence over each other by date of issue.

2) Daily amount - enter the daily amount to be deducted, as stated on the Order.

3) Admin Charge – tick the box provided if you, the employer, wish to deduct £1 as an administration charge for operating the Order.

4) Enter the total amount to be paid.

5) Cumulative amount paid at start - if the employee has already paid some of the attachment (for example in a previous employment) enter the amount here.

6) Enter any Year to Date deductions, if applicable

7) Click Save. 

BrightPay will now apply the Attachment Order on the employee’s payslip from the relevant period.