Your responsibilities
What employers must do
If you receive a Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) notice from Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (the council), you are legally required to:
- Deduct the correct amount from your employee’s net earnings (after tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions).
- Send the deducted amount to the council by the 19th of the following month.
- Keep a record of each deduction and the employee it relates to.
- Continue making deductions until the council tells you to stop or the employee leaves your employment.
If you do not follow these rules, you could be fined up to £1,000.
When you must notify the council
You must tell the council if:
- The person named in the DEA notice does not work for you.
- The employee leaves your business.
- You are a micro business (fewer than 10 employees). In this case, you are not required to operate a DEA unless you and your employee agree to it.
You must write to the council within 10 days of any of these situations.
Use the contact details provided in the DEA notice or contact us.
What you must tell your employee
You must inform your employee in writing about:
- The amount deducted from their pay.
- Any £1 administration charge you apply.
This information can be shown on their payslip. You must provide this no later than the next payday after the deduction is made.
If your business closes
You must also inform the council if your business stops trading.
