Wage Garnishment in French Payroll 2026: A Complete Employer’s Guide

Introduction: Wage Garnishment as an Employer Obligation

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 to it directly from a debtor’s wages. For the employer, this procedure entails strict obligations regarding the calculation, withholding and remittance of sums to creditors.

The scale for wage garnishment is updated each year in accordance with Article R.3252-2 of the French Labour Code. This scale defines the attachable portions according to progressive brackets, guaranteeing the employee a minimum subsistence income. This complete guide details the procedure, the calculation of withholdings and the employer’s obligations, with practical examples based on 2025 values.

The Legal Framework of Wage Garnishment

Legal Basis

Wage garnishment is governed by Articles L.3252-1 to L.3252-13 and R.3252-1 to R.3252-49 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 (maintenance/child support, tax debts).

The procedure takes place in several stages:

Creditor’s application to the judicial court;
Conciliation hearing between the debtor and the creditor;
If this fails, an attachment order (acte de saisie) notified to the employer by the court registry;
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 terms of withholding. 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 owed, in addition to potential damages.

The 2025 Wage Garnishment Scale

Progressive Attachment Brackets

The scale in force (revalued on 1 January each year — check the applicable thresholds on service-public.fr) sets the attachable portions 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. a maximum of €218.50
Bracket 2: from €4,370 to €8,520 — attachable at 1/10, i.e. a maximum of €415.00
Bracket 3: from €8,520 to €12,690 — attachable at 1/5, i.e. a maximum of €834.00
Bracket 4: from €12,690 to €16,820 — attachable at 1/4, i.e. a maximum of €1,032.50
Bracket 5: from €16,820 to €20,970 — attachable at 1/3, i.e. a maximum of €1,383.33
Bracket 6: from €20,970 to €25,200 — attachable at 2/3, i.e. a maximum of €2,820.00
Bracket 7: above €25,200 — attachable 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 should 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) corresponds to the employee’s net remuneration after deduction of mandatory social security contributions and withholding tax at source (prélèvement à la source, or PAS). It is on this net basis that the garnishment scale applies.

In practice, the SBI is calculated as follows:

SBI = Gross remuneration – Mandatory employee contributions – PAS (withholding tax)

The remuneration taken into account includes: base salary, bonuses, overtime, benefits in kind and paid-leave allowances. Excluded are: reimbursement of professional expenses, severance/dismissal indemnities (within certain limits) and family allowances.

The Absolutely Non-Attachable Portion

Whatever the situation, the employee must retain a minimum subsistence income corresponding to the amount of the RSA (income support) for a single person, i.e. €635.71 per month (the RSA amount for a single person, revalued each year — check the value in force). This portion is absolutely non-attachable, even where garnishments are combined.

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

A Complete Wage Garnishment Calculation Example

Example Data

Let us take the case of an employee with the following characteristics:

Monthly net salary after contributions and PAS: €2,300
No dependants
Ordinary (droit commun) debt (not maintenance/child support)

Calculation of the Monthly Attachable Amount

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 higher than 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 amount would then be reduced, providing greater protection for the employee with family responsibilities.

The Special Case of Maintenance/Child Support

An Exception to the Progressive Scale

Maintenance/child support (pension alimentaire) benefits from a derogatory regime provided for in Article L.3252-5 of the French Labour Code. Unlike ordinary debts, maintenance may be withheld beyond the attachable portion, provided the employee retains the minimum subsistence income (single-person RSA = €635.71/month).

Example: If the employee receives net pay 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 higher than the minimum subsistence income of €635.71.

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

The Priority of Maintenance/Child Support

Where an ordinary garnishment and maintenance are combined, maintenance takes priority. It is withheld first, and any remaining attachable 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 receipt of notification from the registry, the employer must:

Acknowledge receipt and provide the requested information within 15 days;
Inform the employee of the establishment of the garnishment;
Carry out the monthly withholdings from the month following notification;
Remit the sums to the court registry (or directly to the creditor, depending on the case) within the month following the withholding;
Report any change in situation (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;
Transmit to the registry the amount of the sums withheld and the details of the final settlement.

Voluntary Assignment of Wages

Difference from Garnishment

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

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

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

Specific Features of the ATD

The third-party attachment notice (avis à tiers détenteur, ATD), now called the administrative third-party attachment (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 court procedure;
Notification is made directly by the authorities to the employer;
The same attachability scale as ordinary garnishments applies.

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 Among Creditors

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

1. Maintenance/child support (super-priority);
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 respect the minimum subsistence income of €635.71 (single-person RSA 2025);
Confusing net pay with the calculation base for 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 remit 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 dependants for each affected employee;
Set up an alert for the end of garnishments;
Keep a record of the withholdings made and the remittances.

FAQ: Wage Garnishment in Payroll

Can an employer refuse to apply a wage garnishment?

No. Upon receipt of 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, in accordance with Article L.3252-10 of the French Labour Code.

How should an employee with several simultaneous garnishments be handled?

Where an employee is subject to several garnishments, the total attachable amount remains unchanged. The various debts share the attachable portion according to the order of priority and the date of notification. Maintenance/child support always takes priority and may be withheld beyond the ordinary attachable amount, up to the minimum subsistence income.

Are severance/dismissal indemnities attachable?

Statutory or contractual dismissal indemnities are in principle not attachable (Article L.3252-3 of the French Labour Code). However, compensatory notice and paid-leave allowances are treated as wages and fall within the scope of the garnishment.

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

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

Does wage garnishment apply during sick leave?

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

Wage Garnishment in French Payroll 2026: A Complete Employer's Guide