Attachment of earnings and court orders in Ireland
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Attachment of earnings means a court has ordered you, as an employer, to deduct a set amount from an employee's wages and pay it directly to a third party — usually a creditor or a maintenance recipient. You have no discretion once the order arrives; compliance is a legal obligation.
What an attachment of earnings order actually is
Irish courts issue attachment of earnings orders under the Family Law (Maintenance of Spouses and Children) Act 1976, or in some cases under civil debt enforcement procedures. The order names the employer, specifies the employee, and sets out either a fixed deduction amount or a schedule tied to earnings. It is served on you as the employer, not the employee (though the employee will generally know the proceedings are under way).
There are two common types:
- Maintenance orders — typically arising from family law proceedings, directing you to send a portion of wages to the District Court clerk or directly to a maintenance recipient.
- Civil debt attachment orders — less common, used to recover judgment debts through wage deductions.
Once served, the order takes effect from the next pay period unless it specifies a different date.
Your obligations as an employer
You must:
1. Begin deductions immediately from the pay period the order covers.
2. Pay the deducted amount to the District Court clerk (or as directed) on each pay date.
3. Notify the court if the employee leaves your employment. You are generally required to do this promptly in writing, providing the employee's last known address if you have it.
4. Not dismiss or penalise the employee because of the order. Doing so exposes you to an unfair dismissal or penalisation claim.
You should keep a clear internal record of each deduction, the pay period it relates to, and proof of remittance to the court.
Calculating the deduction — normal earnings and protected earnings
The order will usually specify a "normal deduction rate" (the amount to be deducted each pay period) and a "protected earnings rate" (the minimum net amount the employee must actually receive). If earnings in a particular week fall below the protected earnings figure, you reduce or suspend the deduction accordingly — you cannot leave the employee with less than the protected threshold.
This means your payroll calculation for an affected employee works in layers:
1. Calculate gross pay as normal.
2. Apply income tax, USC and PRSI in the usual way. Income tax runs at 20% on earnings up to roughly the standard-rate cut-off (around €44,000 for a single person) and 40% above that. USC bands run at 0.5%, 2%, 3% and 8%. Employee PRSI (Class A) is approximately 4.1%; employer PRSI is approximately 11.15%.
3. Arrive at net pay.
4. Check net pay against the protected earnings figure in the order.
5. If net pay exceeds the protected earnings rate, deduct the normal deduction amount (or the difference between net pay and the protected rate, whichever is lower).
6. Remit the deduction to the court; pay the remainder to the employee.
The court order itself will state the precise figures for steps 4 and 5. Do not use your own judgement to vary them.
Payroll reporting and Revenue
Deductions under an attachment of earnings order are not a Revenue-administered deduction — they do not affect the employee's tax position and do not appear on the Revenue payroll submission. You continue to file real-time payroll submissions to Revenue via ROS on or before each payday as normal, reporting gross pay and the standard statutory deductions. The attachment deduction sits below the net pay line and is invisible to Revenue.
This means your payslip must clearly distinguish between statutory deductions (tax, USC, PRSI) and the court-ordered deduction, so the employee can see exactly what has been taken and why.
What happens when the employee leaves
If the employee resigns, is made redundant, or is dismissed for an unrelated reason, you must notify the court in writing without delay. You are not responsible for deductions after the employment ends. The creditor or maintenance recipient must then pursue enforcement through other means. Keep a copy of your notification to the court on file.
If you take on a new employee who arrives with an existing attachment order — sometimes disclosed on a P45 equivalent or through the court — you become bound by that order as their new employer. The court should serve you formally, but if you are on notice of the order, seek legal advice before the first pay run.
Penalties for non-compliance
Ignoring or incorrectly applying an attachment order is contempt of court. Courts can fine employers and, in serious cases, take further enforcement action. There is no Revenue penalty as such, but the civil and family law consequences are significant. If you are uncertain whether an order has been properly served or how to interpret its terms, take legal advice before the next pay date rather than after.
---
Run HR and payroll in Ireland with Mellow
Mellow brings HR, payroll and 12 AI agents into one platform — built to handle Ireland properly, with payroll included, from £4 per employee per month. The AI agents don't just answer questions; they generate contracts, run cost estimates and draft letters for you.
[Start a free trial →](/register)