We've received a Direct Earnings Attachment (DEA) order from Dept of Work & Pensions (DWP) for the employee of a small client. The client only has 5 employees and administering the DEA would be a real headache due to the way they pay their staff.
I understood that micro-employers (<10 staff) were exempted from the legal obligation to enforce a DEA order. This AWeb article mentions the exemption https://www.accountingweb.co.uk/article/direct-earnings-attachments-who-... - and if you google "DEA + micro-employer" you find that every local council in the land recognises this.
However I cannot find any mention of the exemption on gov.uk and when I rang DWP, they denied all knowledge of such an exemption.
Can anyone give me the evidence to back me up?