This redaction is the removal of personal identifiers from a court order that diverts part of a worker's pay to a creditor. Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.6(5) fixes two figures on its face. One is a normal deduction rate the employer takes. The other is a protected rate the worker always keeps. anonym.plus marks each name and number on your device.
When this applies
An order names the debtor, the case, and the sum owed. It lands with a payroll clerk in an open-plan office. The employer must act on it: s.15 requires the court to be told within ten days if the debtor is not, or ceases to be, employed, and s.23 makes non-compliance an offence. A Direct Earnings Attachment or a council tax equivalent carries the same sensitivity.
How anonym.plus handles it
- Open the writ in anonym.plus on your device.
- Local OCR reads a scanned court copy.
- The tool flags the debtor name, NI number, and figure.
- Confirm the flags and keep both statutory rates.
- Swap or black out the marked items.
- Save the clean file locally.
What you need to provide
- The writ (PDF, DOCX, or scan).
- An operator (Replace keeps it readable).
- Optional allow-list for the rates you must show.
PII entity types detected
| Category | anonym.plus entity type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Names | PERSON | debtor Halliwell → [DEBTOR] |
| Identifiers | UK_NINO | QQ 12 34 56 C → [NINO] |
| Financial | MONEY | deduct £620 → [AMOUNT] |
| Financial | UK_SORT_CODE | sort 12-34-56 → [SORT] |
| Location | LOCATION | home address → [ADDRESS] |
| Dates | DATE_TIME | order date → [DATE] |
Compliance achieved
- Keeps the normal deduction rate and the protected earnings rate that Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.6(5) sets on its face visible.
- Leaves room for the £1 administrative charge an employer may take under AEA 1971 s.7(4)(a).
- Preserves the trail behind AEA 1971 s.15, which gives an employer ten days to tell the court a debtor has left.
- Makes the deduction demonstrably lawful under Employment Rights Act 1996 s.13, which permits a deduction a statute requires.
- Applies just as well to a Direct Earnings Attachment or a council tax equivalent, which reaches pay by a different route.
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Limitations & cautions
The protected rate is a legal figure on the writ, not something the tool computes. It removes identifiers only. Payroll must keep the unredacted original to operate the deduction and to answer the court.
Frequently asked questions
What are the two rates on an attachment of earnings order?
Attachment of Earnings Act 1971 s.6(5) sets a normal deduction rate, which the employer takes, and a protected rate, which the worker keeps whatever happens. Allow-list both so the copy still explains itself.
What must an employer do when the debtor leaves?
Tell the court. Section 15 of the 1971 Act gives ten days to notify it that the person is not, or has ceased to be, in your employment. Section 23 makes failure an offence.
Can I charge for operating the deduction?
Section 7(4)(a) lets an employer deduct £1 towards administrative costs for each deduction made. Keep that line readable on any copy you circulate.