Wage Garnishment in France: The 2026 Payroll Guide for Employers

Introduction: Wage Garnishment as an Employer Obligation

Wage garnishment (saisie sur salaire, or saisie sur rémunérations — attachment of earnings) is a legal procedure that allows 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 over to creditors.

The wage garnishment scale is updated each year in accordance with Article R.3252-2 of the French Labour Code. This scale defines the attachable fractions according to progressive brackets, guaranteeing the employee a subsistence minimum. This complete guide details 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 can only be implemented after a conciliation attempt before the enforcement judge (juge de l’exécution) of the judicial court, save in certain cases (child/spousal support, tax debts).

The procedure unfolds in several stages:

Creditor’s application to the judicial court;
Conciliation hearing between the debtor and the creditor;
Where conciliation fails, an attachment order 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 registry of the judicial court. This order specifies the amount of the debt, the identity of the creditor and the withholding arrangements. The employer has 15 days to provide the registry with information on the employee’s situation (remuneration, other garnishments in progress, declared dependants).

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

The 2025 Wage Garnishment Scale

The Progressive Attachment Brackets

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

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

These amounts are increased by €1,680 per year (i.e. €140 per month) per 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: attachable at 1/20
From €364.17 to €710.00: attachable at 1/10
From €710.00 to €1,057.50: attachable at 1/5
From €1,057.50 to €1,401.67: attachable at 1/4
From €1,401.67 to €1,747.50: attachable at 1/3
From €1,747.50 to €2,100.00: attachable at 2/3
Above €2,100.00: attachable in full

The Non-Attachable Base Salary (SBI)

Definition and Calculation

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

In practice, the SBI is calculated as follows:

SBI = Gross remuneration – Mandatory employee contributions – PAS

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

The Absolutely Non-Attachable Fraction

Whatever the situation, the employee must retain a subsistence minimum corresponding to the amount of the RSA (basic 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 fraction is absolutely non-attachable, even where garnishments accumulate.

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

Complete Example of a Wage Garnishment Calculation

Example Data

Take the case of an employee with the following characteristics:

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

Calculation of the Monthly Attachable 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 attachable = 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-attachable 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 attachable portion would then be reduced, further protecting the employee with family responsibilities.

The Special Case of Child/Spousal Support

An Exception to the Progressive Scale

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

Example: If the employee earns a net of €2,300 and must pay support 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.

By contrast, if the support were €1,800, the employer could withhold no more than €2,300 – €635.71 = €1,664.29 maximum.

Priority of Support Payments

Where an ordinary garnishment and support payments coincide, the support payment takes priority. It is deducted first, and any remaining attachable balance is distributed among the other creditors according to the order of priority.

The Procedure from the Employer’s Side

Obligations on Receipt of the Attachment Order

Upon receipt of the registry’s notification, the employer must:

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

Handling the Employee’s Departure

Where the employment contract is terminated, the employer must:

Apply the garnishment to the final settlement (solde de tout compte — salary, compensatory paid-leave indemnities, etc.);
Immediately inform the registry of the end of the contract;
Transmit to the registry the amount of the sums withheld and the breakdown of the final settlement.

Voluntary Wage Assignment

Difference from Garnishment

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

The assignment must be formalised by a declaration to the registry of the judicial court of the employee’s domicile. The employer cannot 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;
Notification is served directly by the administration to the employer;
The same attachability scale applies as for ordinary garnishments.

The employer must handle 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 of Creditors

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

1. Child/spousal support (super-privilège — super-priority);
2. Tax debts (SATD) and social security debts;
3. Ordinary debts, in chronological order of notification.

Points of Attention for the Payroll Manager

Common Errors

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

Payroll Tools and Settings

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 history of withholdings made and payments over.

FAQ: Wage Garnishment in Payroll

Can the employer refuse to carry out a wage garnishment?

No. Upon receipt of the registry’s notification, 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 to handle an employee with several simultaneous garnishments?

Where an employee is subject to several garnishments, the total attachable portion remains unchanged. The various debts share the attachable fraction according to the order of priority and the date of notification. Child/spousal support always takes priority and may be deducted beyond the ordinary attachable portion, down to the subsistence minimum.

Is severance pay attachable?

Statutory or contractual severance pay is in principle not attachable (Article L.3252-3 of the French Labour Code). However, compensatory indemnities in lieu of notice and paid leave are treated as salary and fall within 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 make a correction the following month by reducing the withholding. In the event of an insufficient withholding, the catch-up must respect the attachability 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 indemnities paid by the employer. If the employee receives the IJSS directly from the CPAM (the health insurance fund), the employer is only required to withhold on the portion of remuneration it pays (the employer top-up). In all cases, the subsistence minimum of €635.71 must be respected.