Current Maintenance Arrestment (CMA)

What is a Current Maintenance Arrestment?

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. 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 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.

Admin Charge

Please note: you cannot deduct the admin charge of £1 if it takes your employee's income below the National Minimum Wage. It's a criminal offence for employers to not pay someone the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage.

Employers should check The National Minimum Wage and Living Wage or contact the ACAS helpline for advice.

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 in BrightPay

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.

Amount 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. 

Notes

Use the Notes section to enter any relevant notes relating to the employee's attachment order.

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