How to Apply a Wage Garnishment in French Payroll in 2026: A Complete Employer Guide

Introduction: Wage Garnishment, an Obligation for the Employer

Wage garnishment, known in France as saisie sur salaire or saisie sur rémunérations (attachment of earnings), is a legal procedure allowing a creditor to recover sums owed directly from a debtor’s salary. For the employer, this procedure entails strict obligations regarding calculation, withholding and payment to creditors.

The wage garnishment scale (barème des saisies sur rémunérations) is updated each year in accordance with Article R.3252-2 of the French Labour Code. This scale defines the garnishable portions (fractions saisissables) according to progressive brackets, guaranteeing the employee a subsistence minimum. This complete guide sets out the procedure, the calculation of withholdings and the employer’s obligations, with concrete examples based on 2025 values.

The Legal Framework of Wage Garnishment

Legal Basis

Attachment of earnings is governed by Articles L.3252-1 et seq. and R.3252-1 et seq. of the French Labour Code. It may only be implemented after an attempt at conciliation before the enforcement judge (juge de l’exécution) of the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire), except in certain cases (child/spousal support, tax debts).

The procedure unfolds in several stages:

Creditor’s application (requête) to the judicial court;
Conciliation hearing between the debtor and the creditor;
Where conciliation fails, an attachment order (acte de saisie) notified to the employer by the court registry (greffe);
The employer’s obligation to carry out the monthly withholdings.

Notification to the Employer

The employer receives an attachment order from the judicial court registry. This order specifies the amount of the debt, the identity of the creditor and the terms of withholding. The employer has 15 days to provide the registry with information about the employee’s situation (remuneration, other ongoing garnishments, declared dependants).

Important: an employer who fails to carry out the withholdings may be declared personally liable for the sums due, in addition to any potential damages.

The 2025 Wage Garnishment Scale

The Progressive Garnishment Brackets

The scale in force (revalued on 1 January each year — check the applicable thresholds on service-public.fr) sets the garnishable portions of the net annual remuneration according to the following brackets (annual amounts for a person with no dependants):

Bracket 1: up to €4,370 — garnishable at 1/20, i.e. €218.50 maximum
Bracket 2: from €4,370 to €8,520 — garnishable at 1/10, i.e. €415.00 maximum
Bracket 3: from €8,520 to €12,690 — garnishable at 1/5, i.e. €834.00 maximum
Bracket 4: from €12,690 to €16,820 — garnishable at 1/4, i.e. €1,032.50 maximum
Bracket 5: from €16,820 to €20,970 — garnishable at 1/3, i.e. €1,383.33 maximum
Bracket 6: from €20,970 to €25,200 — garnishable at 2/3, i.e. €2,820.00 maximum
Bracket 7: above €25,200 — garnishable in full

These amounts are increased by €1,680 per year (i.e. €140 per month) for each dependant of the debtor employee.

Monthly Calculation

For monthly application, the annual thresholds must be divided by 12. The 2025 monthly brackets are therefore:

Up to €364.17: garnishable at 1/20
From €364.17 to €710.00: garnishable at 1/10
From €710.00 to €1,057.50: garnishable at 1/5
From €1,057.50 to €1,401.67: garnishable at 1/4
From €1,401.67 to €1,747.50: garnishable at 1/3
From €1,747.50 to €2,100.00: garnishable at 2/3
Above €2,100.00: garnishable in full

The Non-Garnishable Base Salary (SBI)

Definition and Calculation

The SBI (salaire brut insaisissable, non-garnishable base) corresponds to the employee’s net remuneration after deduction of mandatory social security contributions and withholding tax at source (PAS, prélèvement à la source). It is on this net base that the garnishment scale is applied.

In practice, the SBI is calculated as follows:

SBI = Gross remuneration – Mandatory employee contributions – PAS

Included in the remuneration taken into account are: base salary, bonuses, overtime, benefits in kind, and paid-leave allowances. Excluded are: reimbursements of professional expenses, severance pay (within certain limits), and family allowances.

The Absolutely Non-Garnishable Portion

Whatever the situation, the employee must retain a subsistence minimum corresponding to the amount of the RSA (Revenu de Solidarité Active, welfare income support) for a single person, i.e. €635.71 per month (RSA amount for a single person, revalued each year — check the value in force). This portion is absolutely non-garnishable, even in the case of multiple concurrent garnishments.

Reference: Article L.3252-5 of the French Labour Code and Article L.262-2 of the French Social Action and Families Code.

Complete Example of a Wage Garnishment Calculation

Example Data

Consider the case of an employee with the following characteristics:

Monthly net salary after contributions and PAS: €2,300
No dependants
Ordinary (common-law) debt (no child/spousal support)

Calculation of the Monthly Garnishable Portion

Application of the 2025 monthly scale:

Bracket 1: €364.17 × 1/20 = €18.21
Bracket 2: (€710.00 – €364.17) × 1/10 = €345.83 × 1/10 = €34.58
Bracket 3: (€1,057.50 – €710.00) × 1/5 = €347.50 × 1/5 = €69.50
Bracket 4: (€1,401.67 – €1,057.50) × 1/4 = €344.17 × 1/4 = €86.04
Bracket 5: (€1,747.50 – €1,401.67) × 1/3 = €345.83 × 1/3 = €115.28
Bracket 6: (€2,100.00 – €1,747.50) × 2/3 = €352.50 × 2/3 = €235.00
Bracket 7: (€2,300 – €2,100) × 1 = €200.00

Total garnishable = 18.21 + 34.58 + 69.50 + 86.04 + 115.28 + 235.00 + 200.00 = €758.61

Check: the employee retains €2,300 – €758.61 = €1,541.39, which is above the non-garnishable minimum of €635.71. The withholding is therefore valid.

Impact of Dependants

If this same employee had 2 dependants, the thresholds of each bracket would be increased by 2 × €140 = €280 per month. The brackets would become:

Bracket 1: up to €644.17 (€364.17 + €280)
Bracket 2: from €644.17 to €990.00
And so on…

The garnishable portion would then be reduced, giving greater protection to the employee with family responsibilities.

The Special Case of Child/Spousal Support

An Exception to the Progressive Scale

Child/spousal support (pension alimentaire, maintenance payments) benefits from a derogatory regime provided for by Article L.3252-5 of the French Labour Code. Unlike ordinary debts, maintenance payments may be deducted beyond the garnishable portion, provided the employee is left with the subsistence minimum (RSA single person = €635.71/month).

Example: If the employee receives a net salary of €2,300 and must pay maintenance of €800, the employer may withhold €800 because the employee retains €2,300 – €800 = €1,500, an amount above the subsistence minimum of €635.71.

Conversely, if the maintenance were €1,800, the employer could withhold only €2,300 – €635.71 = €1,664.29 maximum.

The Priority of Maintenance Payments

Where an ordinary garnishment and a maintenance obligation coincide, the maintenance payment takes priority. It is deducted first, and any remaining garnishable balance is distributed among the other creditors according to the order of priority.

The Procedure on the Employer’s Side

Obligations Upon Receipt of the Attachment Order

Upon receiving notification from the registry, the employer must:

Acknowledge receipt and provide the requested information within 15 days;
Inform the employee of the implementation of the garnishment;
Carry out the monthly withholdings from the month following notification;
Pay over the sums to the court registry (or directly to the creditor, as the case may be) within the month following the withholding;
Report any change in circumstances (end of contract, change in remuneration).

Handling the Employee’s Departure

In the event of termination of the employment contract, the employer must:

Apply the garnishment to the final settlement (solde de tout compte: salary, compensatory paid-leave allowances, etc.);
Immediately inform the registry of the end of the contract;
Send the registry the amount of the sums withheld and the details of the final settlement.

Voluntary Assignment of Salary

Difference from Garnishment

A voluntary assignment (cession volontaire) is an act by which the employee authorises the employer to deduct part of their salary for the benefit of a creditor. Unlike garnishment, it does not require a court decision but must comply with the same garnishability limits as the statutory scale.

The assignment must be formalised by a declaration to the registry of the judicial court of the employee’s domicile. The employer may not proceed with an assignment on the mere verbal or written request of the employee without this formality.

The Third-Party Holder Notice (ATD) and Tax Debts

Specific Features of the ATD

The third-party holder notice (avis à tiers détenteur, ATD), now called the administrative attachment served on a third-party holder (saisie administrative à tiers détenteur, SATD), is a recovery tool used by the tax authorities and social security bodies. It differs from ordinary garnishment in that:

There is no prior judicial procedure;
It is notified directly by the authorities to the employer;
It applies the same garnishability scale as ordinary garnishments.

The employer must treat the SATD with the same rigour as a judicial garnishment. Failure to comply with this obligation exposes the employer to financial penalties.

Order of Priority Among Creditors

Where several garnishments or SATDs are ongoing, the order of priority is as follows:

1. Maintenance payments (super-privilege);
2. Tax debts (SATD) and social security debts;
3. Ordinary debts, in chronological order of notification.

Key Points of Attention for the Payroll Manager

Common Errors

Forgetting to increase the brackets for dependants declared by the employee;
Failing to observe the subsistence minimum of €635.71 (RSA single person 2025);
Confusing the net pay with the calculation base of the garnishment (the PAS must be included in the calculation);
Failing to inform the registry of a change in the employee’s situation;
Failing to pay over the sums within the prescribed deadlines.

Payroll Tools and Configuration

Most payroll software includes a garnishment management module. It is recommended to:

Check the annual update of the scale in the software;
Configure the dependants for each affected employee;
Set up an alert for the end of garnishments;
Keep a record of the withholdings made and the payments over.

FAQ: Wage Garnishment in Payroll

Can the employer refuse to apply a wage garnishment?

No. Upon receipt of the notification from the registry, the employer is legally required to carry out the withholdings. Refusal or negligence exposes the employer to being declared personally liable for the sums owed to the creditor.

How should an employee with several simultaneous garnishments be handled?

Where an employee is subject to several garnishments, the total garnishable portion remains unchanged. The various debts share the garnishable fraction according to the order of priority and the date of notification. Maintenance payments always take priority and may be deducted beyond the ordinary garnishable portion, down to the subsistence minimum.

Is severance pay garnishable?

Statutory or collectively-agreed severance pay (indemnités de licenciement) is in principle not garnishable (Article L.3252-3 of the French Labour Code). However, compensatory allowances for notice and paid leave are treated as salary and are included in the garnishment base.

What should be done in the event of a calculation error on a withholding?

In the event of an overpayment, the employer must regularise the following month by reducing the withholding. In the event of an insufficient withholding, the catch-up must comply with the garnishability scale. It is recommended to inform the registry of any error and correction made.

Does wage garnishment apply during sick leave?

Yes, the garnishment continues to apply to subrogated daily social security benefits (IJSS) or to supplementary allowances paid by the employer. If the employee receives the IJSS directly from the CPAM (health insurance fund), the employer is only required to withhold from the portion of remuneration it pays (the employer top-up). In all cases, the subsistence minimum of €635.71 must be observed.