My creditor got an attachment of earnings order

An attachment of earnings order (AEO) is a court order that requires your employer to make regular deductions from your wages and pay them to the court (or directly to the creditor, depending on the type of order) until the debt is paid. They are commonly used to enforce County Court Judgments.

There are two key figures in an AEO: the "normal deduction rate" (the amount deducted each pay period if your earnings are sufficient) and the "protected earnings rate" (the amount below which your take-home pay cannot fall — set with reference to a basic level of need). If your earnings in any pay period are below the protected earnings rate, no deduction is made that period.

You have the right to apply to the court to vary the AEO if your financial circumstances change — for example, if your income falls significantly. Use Form N244 to make such an application, setting out your current income and expenditure.

Your employer is required by law to comply with the AEO. They cannot dismiss you, refuse to employ you, or treat you detrimentally solely because of an AEO — to do so is a criminal offence under the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971.

If you have multiple AEOs from different creditors, the court can consolidate them into a single "consolidated attachment of earnings order" administered by the court. This can be simpler to manage.

If you are self-employed or your income is irregular, an AEO may not be practical, and a creditor may instead pursue other enforcement methods such as a charging order.