Deferral or restriction of garnishment and payment-free months

Debtors have access to three types of relief from the garnishment of wages:

• the garnishment of wages can be deferred after a long period of unemployment;
• the amount of garnishment can be restricted; and
• the debtor can be granted payment-free months from garnishment either ex officio or upon application by the debtor.

Deferral

If a debtor has been unemployed for at least a year prior to the garnishment of pay, they have the right to a deferral of garnishment for a maximum of six months from the beginning of the employment relationship. A deferral can only be granted if the debtor’s income is at most twice the amount of the protected portion (income limit garnishment).

If the above conditions are not fulfilled, the debtor may be granted a discretionary deferral for a maximum of four months from the beginning of the employment relationship.

• The maximum deferral period is nevertheless half of the duration of employment.
• A deferral may be denied subject to certain conditions.
• In the collection of child maintenance payments, garnishment can only be deferred on compelling grounds.

Restriction

The amount of garnishment can be reduced due to the debtor’s illness, unemployment, child maintenance payments, exceptional expenses for the production of income, or other special reasons.

Payment-free months

Payment-free months can be granted once the garnishment of wages has continued without or nearly without interruption for one year. Payment-free months are granted both automatically and on a discretionary basis upon application by the debtor.

Payment-free months granted without request

• After a year of continuous income limit garnishment the debtors are automatically granted three payment-free months per year.
• Income limit garnishment means that the debtor’s income exceeds the protected portion but is no more than two times the protected portion. (see example 3 here)
• If a third of the debtor’s net pay is garnished (the net pay is more than double the protected portion, but no more than four times the protected portion), the debtor is automatically granted a single payment-free month per year (see example 4).

Payment-free months granted upon application by the debtor

• A debtor can be granted payment-free months upon application if necessary housing costs or other costs of living are high in relation to the amount left to them after the garnishment or there is a special reason for the interruption.
• In income limit garnishment, one payment-free month in addition to the automatic payment-free months can be granted each year upon application by the debtor.
• Debtors whose pay is being garnished by other means than income limit garnishment are granted a maximum of three payment-free months per year, one of them automatically.

A debtor may not be awarded both payment-free months and a restriction in the amount of garnishment on the same grounds. Free months from the enforced collection of child maintenance payments can only be granted for especially weighty reasons.

Debtors can file applications for payment-free months, restricting the amount of garnishment and deferral of garnishment in the electronic enforcement service.