Explained - the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024

Implemented on 6 April, the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 bring increased protection for low-earning debtors, writes Ahsan Mustafa.

An earnings arrestment schedule is an effective method of diligence that puts the onus on a debtor’s employer to repay the debt through deductions from the employee’s wages. Breach of an earnings arrestment schedule can result in a decree against the employer for the entire debt. However, the effectiveness of this debt recovery tool must be balanced out with protection of the lowest earners.

The Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 came into force on 6 April 2025. These Regulations increase protection for debtors and amend the figures that are contained in Part 3 of the Debtors (Scotland) Act 1987 – namely, sections 53(2)(b) and 63(4)(b) – and Schedule 2. The 2024 Regulations also replace the Diligence against Earnings (Variation) (Scotland) Regulations 2023 (SSI 2023/27) but retain the 2023 Regulations for transitional purposes.

The 2024 Regulations raise the threshold of earnings that must be met before deductions can be made by the arrestment order. In addition, debtors who earn less will have a lower amount deducted, while those debtors who earn more will have a higher amount deducted.

Turning the tables

The 2024 Regulations adjust the table bandings that are used to determine the deductions if a debtor earns above the protected minimum amount. These changes apply to all existing earnings arrestment orders.

The tables in Schedule 2 are usually updated every three years in order to keep the correct balance between protection for the debtor and the creditor’s rights to effectively enforce the order. The tables in Schedule 2 were previously updated in 2023. This was sooner than the normal three-yearly cycle due to the high consumer price inflation rates for the period between October 2020 and October 2022 and the cost of living crisis at the time. Inflation rates had risen higher than the average earnings and the adjustment to the tables was a protective measure for debtors.

Table A of Schedule 2 sets out weekly earnings deductions, Table B sets out monthly earnings deductions and Table C sets out daily earnings deductions. The Regulations stipulate that when applying a percentage, the calculation should be carried out to two decimal places of a penny and the result rounded to the nearest whole penny, with an exact half penny being rounded down.

The monthly protected amount is now £750, up from £655.83. An increase based on consumer price inflation would have changed this to £729.28, but the figure was rounded up based on average weekly earnings. The weekly protected amount has increased from £150.94 to £172.61, and the daily protected amount has increased from £21.56 to £24.66. The daily protected amount is the same figure that is used to determine the sum deducted from earnings which are subject to a conjoined arrestment order or a current maintenance arrestment, where the debts are all current maintenance.

There were calls to increase the monthly protected amount to £1,000 during scrutiny of the Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024, but this was not implemented due to concerns about unintended impacts. The 2024 Regulations were a proportionate response and the Schedule 2 tables were updated accordingly to protect the lowest earners.

Ahsan Mustafa is a banking litigation associate at Aberdein Considine