Set up an attachment of earnings order

How to create an attachment of earnings order (AEO) in Sage 50 Payroll.

An AEO is an official form issued to an employer, usually by a court. It instructs the employer to deduct an outstanding debt directly from your employee's wages. There are various reasons why a court issues an attachment, including unpaid fines and child support.

An AEO is a deduction from an employee's net pay, known as their attachable earnings.

There are different types of Attachments of earnings orders (AEO) in England and Wales. The issuing body requires you to make payments to them, usually on a weekly or monthly basis. To cover administration costs, you can deduct an administration fee of £1 from the employee each pay period, for each attachment.

You can find further information from GOV.UK.

To ensure the AEO is correct, check the current rates in Company then click Legislation and open the AEO Rates tab.

Set up an AEO

1. Go to Employee.
2. Double-click the required employee to open their record, then select the Employment tab.
3. Select Pay Elements, then Attachment of Earnings Orders.
4. Go to the next available line under Attachment Name.
5. Select the dropdown button and choose the required attachment.
6. Select OK and enter the AEO details:
   • If the attachment is ongoing with no end date or total value, leave the Total Attachment value as 0.00
   • Some attachments have protected earnings built into the legislation. If you use an attachment without this set, you can enter an amount under the Protected Earnings column
7. Select Save, then Close.

 NOTE: If your employee leaves and still owes money on the AEO, notify the issuing authority within 10 days of their leave date. 

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