If we pay you too much Housing Benefit we can ask your employer to recover the overpaid amount direct from your salary. Using this method, employers are required to make deductions from your salary and pay the amounts deducted to the Council to reduce or clear the debt.
If you are affected we will inform you in writing and we will write to your employer to ask them to operate the scheme.
If you have been overpaid Housing Benefit and need more information see Housing Benefit Overpayments.
Information for Employers
The Employer’s Guide provides advice on what an employer needs to do if they are asked to implement a Direct Earnings Attachment. It explains:
- How to operate a Direct Earning Attachment
- How to work out how much should be deducted from the employee’s earnings
- How and when to make payments to us of the amount deducted
- Employers responsibilities and the law
The guide is intended to help an employer understand the main points about Direct Earning Attachments but is not intended to be a full description or statement of the law.
Payment Schedule for Direct Earnings Attachment
A blank payment schedule must be completed and sent to the Council giving details of the amounts deducted from the employee’s salary. The completed schedule should be attached to any payments or sent in separately when payments are made by BACS. The full procedure is explained in the Employers Guide.
A blank Direct Earnings Attachment payment schedule can be downloaded below.