Prohibition on payments for the employer
The prohibition on payments is a mandatory instruction to the debtor’s employer concerning the amount of the debtor’s income that must be remitted to enforcement.
The notice indicates also the protected portion, or the minimum income that will not be garnished. If the debtor’s pay is less than the protected portion, it will not be garnished.
The prohibition on payments contains instructions on how to calculate the amount remitted to enforcement. Pay is treated the same way in enforcement as in taxation. The value of perquisites, for example, is thus included in pay. The amount remitted to enforcement is calculated from the debtor’s net pay.
Periodically paid income
The debtor’s protected portion of periodically paid income is € € 32,56 per day plus € 9,52 per day for each dependent. The protected portion is indicated as a total sum in the prohibition on payments and is calculated for 30 days per month (or for 15 days if the income is paid at two-week intervals) regardless of how many days the debtor has worked in that month.
If a debtor's pay is no more than twice the amount of the calculated protected portion, 2/3 (two thirds) of the amount in excess of the protected portion will be garnished from the debtor’s pay. This is called income limit garnishment.
If the debtor’s pay is more than twice the amount of the protected portion, 1/3 (one third) will be garnished from the debtor’s total pay.
The prohibition on payments may also contain other instructions affecting the withholding amount, such as lump-sum deductions from the debtor’s pay.
Other than periodically paid income
One third of non-periodic pay will be garnished. There is no protected portion for such income.
The regularity of the pay period is decisive in assessing whether the debtor’s income is paid periodically or not. If the employer stays the same and the debtor receives regular pay, the rules for garnishing periodically paid income apply. The employee’s number of work days or hours has no effect on this.
Validity and binding nature of the prohibition on payments
A prohibition on payments can be valid indefinitely or for a set period. When a new prohibition on payments is issued, it replaces any prior notices; only the most recent notice is valid. The contact person stated on the prohibition on payments must be informed of temporary interruptions in the payment of wages or salary. The employer must notify the enforcement authority if the employee’s employment ends.
Failure to comply with recipient of the prohibition on payments may result in the enforcement authority collecting the unremitted amount from the employer.
Published 31.1.2024