Court Orders – Changes to the calculation of Scottish arrestments
Friday, December 4th, 2009
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Last week’s newsletter reviewed the new calculation procedures that apply to Scottish current maintenance arrestments (CMAs) and earnings arrestments (EAs) from 6 April 2010. In that article we indicated that employers should not apply the new calculations until instructed to do so by a debtor or creditor, but that the new calculations must be applied to new arrestments executed on or after 6 April 2010.
The following notes correct and clarify that guidance.
The Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 states that Regulations to vary the calculations of CMAs and EAs do not apply “unless and until the creditor or the debtor intimates the making of the regulations to the employer”. With regard to conjoined arrestment orders (CAOs), the Act states that “the sheriff clerk shall intimate to the employer operating a conjoined arrestment order … the making of regulations” and “such regulations shall not apply to the conjoined arrestment order until such intimation”. On the basis of those instructions, there is no obligation laid on employers to apply new calculation procedures until instructed to do so by the relevant parties. But, having received instructions to apply the new procedures, the employer must do so on the next payday, unless that payday falls within 7 days after receiving the instructions.
However, the Act also entitles employers to apply new calculation procedures before receiving intimation of the changes. If, for example, the employer’s computerised payroll system has been updated and can apply the new calculations from 6 April 2010, the employer may choose to operate CMAs, EAs and CAOs using the new calculations on paydays falling on or after that date.
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