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- Which figure does your employer start from?
- What are the monthly earnings arrestment bands?
- How do you work the calculation through step by step?
- What does the monthly ready reckoner say for your pay?
- What happens when your monthly pay changes?
- What gets added on top of the monthly deduction?
- What if the monthly figure is more than you can manage?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
A wage arrestment on monthly pay is calculated by taking your net earnings for that month and applying Table B of Schedule 2 to the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987. Nothing comes off the first £750.00, and above that the deduction is a fixed amount plus a percentage of the excess in your band.
Payroll runs the sum for you. Nobody at your employer or at the creditor picks the figure, because the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 sets it.
Part of your pay is protected by law
The deduction is set by statutory tables, not the creditor
An arrestment can be stopped or replaced
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Checking it yourself takes two minutes. One error worth checking for is the wrong pay frequency table.
Below are the monthly bands, the arithmetic worked through on three salaries, and a ready reckoner running from £750.00 of net pay to £4,500.00. If the deduction on your payslip is still a mystery, start with what a wage arrestment actually is.
Which figure does your employer start from?
Net earnings for that month, meaning your pay after income tax, National Insurance and pension contributions. Gross salary is never the starting figure.
This is where most people go wrong before they reach the table. Every page publishing the bands asks for net pay without explaining how to get there from your salary.
Why your annual salary is the wrong starting point
Your salary divided by twelve is gross monthly pay, and the arrestment never touches that number. Tax, National Insurance and any pension contribution come off first.
The gap is wide. A salary that sounds comfortable can land two bands lower once those three deductions have gone.
What counts as net earnings for the calculation
Wages, salary, fees, bonuses, commission and overtime are all inside net earnings here. Anything that lifts your net pay in a month lifts the deduction for that month.
Voluntary deductions sit the other side of the line. A season ticket loan, union subscription or car scheme comes off after the arrestment, not before.
Only tax, National Insurance and pension reduce the figure the table is applied to. Our guide to the protected earnings limits for a wage arrestment explains the slice left alone whatever you earn.
Where the figure sits on your payslip
Use the net pay total for that period, never the year to date column. Year to date figures put you in the top band every time.
Some payslips show net pay after the arrestment has already come off. Add the arrested sum and the £1.00 charge back on before you look up the band, or let our wage arrestment calculator do it.
What are the monthly earnings arrestment bands?
Monthly paid employees are assessed under Table B, which runs from a nil deduction on net pay of £750.00 or less up to £625.00 plus 50% of everything above £3,750.00. There are five bands, stepping up at 15, 20, 25 and 50 per cent.
These figures were substituted into Schedule 2 by the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024. They came into force on 6 April 2025 and were still the live figures in August 2026.
The monthly deduction table, from 6 April 2025
Check any deduction quoted elsewhere against this table. Most pages ranking for this question still publish the older bands.
| Monthly net earnings | Deduction |
|---|---|
| Not exceeding £750.00 | Nil |
| Over £750.00 but not over £1,500.00 | £10.00 or 15% of the excess over £750.00, whichever is greater |
| Over £1,500.00 but not over £2,500.00 | £112.50 plus 20% of the excess over £1,500.00 |
| Over £2,500.00 but not over £3,750.00 | £312.50 plus 25% of the excess over £2,500.00 |
| Over £3,750.00 | £625.00 plus 50% of the excess over £3,750.00 |
No April 2026 uprating was made. The tables are reviewed every two or three years.
How the five bands behave in practice
The first £750.00 is protected every single month, whatever the balance. Above it the rate climbs steeply, and the top band takes half of everything over £3,750.00.
There is no percentage cap on an earnings arrestment at all. The 60% floor people quote belongs to Direct Earnings Attachments and child maintenance orders, which is one reason how much they can take from your wages is so often misreported.
How do you work the calculation through step by step?
Take your net pay, find its band, work out the excess over the bottom of that band, apply the percentage, then add the fixed amount. Five moves and you have the figure.
The five steps in order
- Step one. Take the net pay for that month, after tax, National Insurance and pension.
- Step two. Find the row your net pay sits in on the monthly table.
- Step three. Subtract the bottom figure of that band from your net pay.
- Step four. Apply the band percentage to that excess.
- Step five. Add the fixed amount for the band, then round to the nearest penny.
Worked example one: £1,800.00 net a month
Net pay of £1,800.00 sits in the £1,500.00 to £2,500.00 band. The excess is £300.00, and 20% of that is £60.00.
Add the fixed £112.50 and the deduction is £172.50. That leaves £1,627.50 before the £1.00 charge.
Worked example two: £2,200.00 net a month
Same band, bigger excess. The excess is £700.00, and 20% of that is £140.00.
So the deduction is £112.50 plus £140.00, or £252.50. An extra £400.00 of net pay has cost £80.00 more.
Worked example three: £2,900.00 net a month
This one crosses into the 25% band. The excess over £2,500.00 is £400.00, and 25% of that is £100.00.
Add the fixed £312.50 and the deduction is £412.50. The fixed amount changed as well as the rate.
| Monthly net pay | Band | The sum | Deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| £900.00 | £750.00 to £1,500.00 | 15% of £150.00 | £22.50 |
| £1,800.00 | £1,500.00 to £2,500.00 | £112.50 plus 20% of £300.00 | £172.50 |
| £2,200.00 | £1,500.00 to £2,500.00 | £112.50 plus 20% of £700.00 | £252.50 |
| £2,900.00 | £2,500.00 to £3,750.00 | £312.50 plus 25% of £400.00 | £412.50 |
| £4,200.00 | Over £3,750.00 | £625.00 plus 50% of £450.00 | £850.00 |
The rounding rule nobody mentions
Calculations are made to two decimal places of a penny, then rounded to the nearest whole penny. An exact half penny rounds down.
A penny out is rounding. Anything larger is worth querying with payroll.
Check whether your monthly deduction has been worked out correctly
What does the monthly ready reckoner say for your pay?
Find your net pay in the table below, then read across for the band, the deduction and what is left. It runs from £750.00 to £4,500.00 a month, and every figure comes from the statutory table rather than an estimate.
Nobody else publishes this. Competing pages give you the bands and stop there.
Monthly net pay from £750.00 to £4,500.00
The last column is net pay minus the deduction. It ignores the £1.00 your employer may take.
| Monthly net pay | Band | Deduction | Left to live on |
|---|---|---|---|
| £750.00 | Nil | £0.00 | £750.00 |
| £800.00 | 15% | £10.00 | £790.00 |
| £900.00 | 15% | £22.50 | £877.50 |
| £1,000.00 | 15% | £37.50 | £962.50 |
| £1,100.00 | 15% | £52.50 | £1,047.50 |
| £1,200.00 | 15% | £67.50 | £1,132.50 |
| £1,300.00 | 15% | £82.50 | £1,217.50 |
| £1,400.00 | 15% | £97.50 | £1,302.50 |
| £1,500.00 | 15% | £112.50 | £1,387.50 |
| £1,600.00 | 20% | £132.50 | £1,467.50 |
| £1,800.00 | 20% | £172.50 | £1,627.50 |
| £2,000.00 | 20% | £212.50 | £1,787.50 |
| £2,200.00 | 20% | £252.50 | £1,947.50 |
| £2,400.00 | 20% | £292.50 | £2,107.50 |
| £2,500.00 | 20% | £312.50 | £2,187.50 |
| £2,600.00 | 25% | £337.50 | £2,262.50 |
| £2,800.00 | 25% | £387.50 | £2,412.50 |
| £3,000.00 | 25% | £437.50 | £2,562.50 |
| £3,250.00 | 25% | £500.00 | £2,750.00 |
| £3,500.00 | 25% | £562.50 | £2,937.50 |
| £3,750.00 | 25% | £625.00 | £3,125.00 |
| £4,000.00 | 50% | £750.00 | £3,250.00 |
| £4,250.00 | 50% | £875.00 | £3,375.00 |
| £4,500.00 | 50% | £1,000.00 | £3,500.00 |
The jumps between rows repay a look. Going from £2,400.00 to £2,600.00 net costs you £45.00 more a month, because the 25% band has started.
Multiply your row by the months left and you have the shape of the whole thing. How long a wage arrestment lasts is the same question from the other end.
Reading your own row honestly
Net pay moves, so treat the row as this month rather than every month. Overtime in December and short hours in January are two different rows.
What happens when your monthly pay changes?
The calculation is redone from scratch at every pay date from that month’s net earnings. There is no averaging across the year, no fixed instalment and no catching up for a lean month.
This catches out anyone expecting a payment plan. An earnings arrestment is not an agreement, and knowing how a wage arrestment works in Scotland makes the swings easier to predict.
Overtime, bonuses and commission
Anything that lifts net pay lifts the deduction for that month only. A bonus taking £2,400.00 up to £3,000.00 moves the deduction from £292.50 to £437.50.
A month below £750.00
Monthly net earnings of £750.00 or less produce a nil deduction. Net pay of £749.00 gives a deduction of £0.00, because each pay period is assessed on its own net earnings.
The arrestment stays in place and collects nothing. Your balance is untouched, so the run just gets longer.
What if you are not paid monthly?
There is no fortnightly table and no four weekly table in Schedule 2. Payroll normally uses the daily table, or applies the weekly table to each week in the period.
Employers should follow their own payroll guidance on which of the two methods to apply. Guidance on debt and decrees helps if payroll disagrees.
Changing employer part way through
An earnings arrestment falls with the employment it was served on. It does not transfer to a new employer by itself.
The creditor has to trace you and serve a fresh schedule, which buys a gap rather than an ending. That holds whatever the reason the arrestment was granted.
What gets added on top of the monthly deduction?
Your employer may take £1.00 for each deduction, on top of the arrested sum. Sheriff officer expenses and any council tax surcharge go on the debt rather than on your monthly figure.
| What is added | Who it goes to | Where it lands |
|---|---|---|
| £1.00 administration charge | Your employer | Taken from your pay each time a deduction is made |
| Sheriff officer expenses | The sheriff officer firm | Added to the balance you owe, at rates set by the court |
| 10% council tax surcharge | The council | Added to the arrears when the summary warrant is granted |
| Interest on an ordinary decree debt | The creditor | Added to the balance where the decree allows it |
The £1.00 employer administration charge
It comes out of your pay in addition to the arrested amount, so a £172.50 deduction costs you £173.50. It does not reduce the debt by a penny.
Employers are not obliged to take it. Check whether yours shows one line or two.
Sheriff officer expenses and the council tax surcharge
Where the debt is council tax, a 10% surcharge is added to the arrears when the summary warrant is granted, before any deduction starts.
The sheriff officer firm collecting it charges expenses as well, set by an Act of Sederunt rather than by the firm. Those go on the balance too.
That is why the balance falls more slowly than your payslip suggests. Our council tax billing and collection guide sets out the notices that should have arrived first.
Ask for the breakdown in writing
Ask for a statement showing the debt, the surcharge and the expenses separately. Which creditor is enforcing changes what can lawfully be added.
A figure given over the phone is no use six months later. Keep it with your payslips.
What if the monthly figure is more than you can manage?
Your employer cannot lower it, and a sheriff cannot reduce a Schedule 2 deduction because you cannot afford it. The change has to come from a Time to Pay Order, the Debt Arrangement Scheme, a trust deed or sequestration.
Why there is no hardship route against an earnings arrestment
Operating it is a legal duty, and an employer who fails to comply becomes liable for the sums that should have been deducted.
The only review powers are a declarator that the arrestment is invalid, and a determination of a dispute about how it is operated. Neither is an affordability ground.
Time to Pay Orders
A Time to Pay Order is applied for after decree, and it is competent against a summary warrant. Where the sheriff grants one, the sheriff must recall any existing earnings arrestment.
The debt has to be £25,000 or less excluding interest, and the test is what is reasonable in the circumstances. A money adviser or the sheriff clerk at your local sheriff court can confirm whether an application is competent on your facts.
A Time to Pay Direction is the pre-decree version, and it is not available against a summary warrant.
The Debt Arrangement Scheme
Once a Debt Payment Programme is approved under the Debt Arrangement Scheme, an existing earnings arrestment stops and creditors cannot start new diligence. It runs through the Accountant in Bankruptcy and the DAS Administrator.
You repay in full over an agreed period, with interest, fees and charges frozen. The average programme runs about six years.
Council tax arrears can go in, but the current year cannot. Our council tax debt advice page covers what a council will agree to.
Where the creditor is your council, a special payment arrangement is sometimes enough on its own.
Trust deeds, sequestration and a moratorium
A protected trust deed ends an earnings arrestment on the date of protection, under s.173 of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016. Between signing and protection you are still exposed.
Sequestration does the same on the date of sequestration, and Minimal Asset Process counts as sequestration. The arrestment is replaced by a Debtor Contribution Order.
A statutory moratorium gives six months of protection and you get one per rolling 12 months. It stops service of a charge for payment, stops new diligence and stops creditor petitions for sequestration.
It does not stop a creditor obtaining a decree, and interest and charges keep accruing throughout.
Frequently asked questions
How is a wage arrestment worked out if I am paid monthly?
Your employer applies Table B to your net pay for that month. Nothing is taken from the first £750.00, and above that it is a fixed amount plus a percentage of the excess in your band.
What is the deduction on £1,800.00 net a month?
£172.50. That is £112.50 plus 20% of the £300.00 above £1,500.00.
What is the deduction on £2,200.00 net a month?
£252.50, made up of £112.50 plus 20% of the £700.00 above £1,500.00.
Is anything taken if I earn £749.00 net in a month?
No. Monthly net pay of £749.00 is below the £750.00 protected threshold, so the deduction for that month is nil, because each pay period is assessed on its own net earnings.
Does the monthly earnings arrestment table change each April?
Not automatically. The current table came into force on 6 April 2025, no April 2026 uprating was made, and the tables are reviewed every two or three years.
What if I am paid fortnightly rather than monthly?
There is no fortnightly table. Fortnightly pay is normally handled using the daily table, or by applying the weekly table to each week.
Can two creditors each take a monthly deduction?
Only one diligence against earnings can operate against the same employment at a time. A second creditor has to apply for a conjoined arrestment order, which the sheriff clerk administers.
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Written as general information about Scottish debt law rather than regulated financial or legal advice, and your own circumstances may change the answer. Free, impartial help is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, Money Advice Scotland and National Debtline.