Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987

63 Sum payable by employer under conjoined arrestment order

(1) Subject to section 69(3) of this Act, this section shall have effect for the purpose of determining the sum to be deducted on a pay-day and paid to the sheriff clerk under a conjoined arrestment order.

(2) Where all the debts are ordinary debts, the said sum shall be the sum which the employer would pay under section 47(1) of this Act if the debts were one debt being enforced on the pay-day by an earnings arrestment.

(3) Where all the debts are current maintenance, the sum shall be whichever is the lesser of the amounts mentioned in paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (4) below, less any sum which the debtor is entitled to deduct under any enactment in respect of income tax.

(4) The amounts referred to in subsection (3) above are—

(a) the aggregate of the sums arrived at by multiplying each of the daily rates of maintenance (as specified in the conjoined arrestment order) by the number of days—

(i) since the last pay-day when a deduction from earnings was made by the employer under section 51(1) or 60(3)(b) of this Act in respect of the maintenance obligation; or

(ii) if there was no such previous pay-day, since the date when the conjoined arrestment order or any order under section 62(5) of this Act varying it came into effect; or

(b) any net earnings in so far as they exceed the sum of £5 per day for the number of days mentioned in paragraph (a) above.

(5) Where one or more of the debts are ordinary debts, and one or more are current maintenance, the sum shall be the aggregate of the following—

(a) the sum which the employer would pay under section 47(1) of this Act if the ordinary debt was being enforced on the pay-day by an earnings arrestment (where there is more than one ordinary debt, treating the aggregate amount of them as if it were one debt); and

(b) in relation to the debts which are current maintenance, the sum which would be payable under subsection (3) above if all the debts were current maintenance and so much of the debtor's net earnings as are left after deduction of the sum provided for in paragraph (a) above were his whole net earnings.

(6) The sum specified in subsection (4)(b) above may be varied by regulations made by the Lord Advocate and such regulations may make different provision for different cases.

(7) The sheriff clerk shall intimate to the employer operating a conjoined arrestment order, in the form prescribed by Act of Sederunt, the making of regulations under section 49(7) of this Act or subsection (6) above; and, subject to section 69(1) and (2) of this Act, such regulations shall not apply to the conjoined arrestment order until such intimation.

(8) An employer operating a conjoined arrestment order in relation to current maintenance shall be entitled, but shall not be required, to apply a change in the small maintenance payments limits before the sheriff clerk intimates the change to the employer in the form prescribed by Act of Sederunt.

(9) For the purposes of subsection (8) above, the small maintenance payment limits are the rates mentioned in section 65(1 A) of the [1970 c. 10.] Income and Corporation Taxes Act 1970.

(10) Subject to subsection (11) below, the sheriff clerk shall not be entitled to refuse to accept payment by the employer under section 60(3)(b) of this Act which is tendered by cheque or by such other method as may be prescribed by Act of Sederunt.

(11) If a cheque tendered in payment under section 60(3)(b) of this Act is dishonoured or for any other reason the method of payment used is ineffectual, the sheriff clerk may insist that the payment for which the cheque was tendered and any future payment by the employer under the conjoined arrestment order shall be tendered in cash.