Attachment of earnings order: rules for employers

If your employee is unable to pay their debts, a court bailiff can seize part of their earnings. This is called attachment of earnings (loonbeslag). As an employer, you are obliged to cooperate with this.

What is attachment of earnings?

If your employee is unable to pay their debts, creditors can ask the court for an attachment of earnings order (AOE). The court bailiff then seizes a part of your employee’s wages to pay off their debts. You pay that part of their wages to the court bailiff. Your employee receives the remaining part. A court order is required for an attachment of earnings.

Notification of attachment

If a court bailiff seizes your employee’s earnings, they will give you a notification of attachment. This is an official document which states that the court bailiff is seizing your employee’s earnings. You will also receive a copy of the court's decision. From that moment, you are obliged to pay part of your employee's salary directly to the court bailiff.

Notification of third-party attachment

If a court bailiff seizes your employee’s earnings, he will ask you for information about your employee’s income. You must complete a declaration form (notification of third-party attachment, in Dutch). The court bailiff asks, for example:

• whether the employee works for you
• when your employee receives their salary
• how much their gross and net salary is
• what deductions and settlements there are, for example pension contributions, private use addition for private use of a company car, and payroll taxes
• whether there is already an attachment of earnings

You must answer the questions and return the form within the period specified by the court bailiff. This is as soon as possible, but only after 2 or 4 weeks following the date of the attachment depending on whether or not the debtor has asked for a waiting period.

You can check the court bailiff register to ensure that you are dealing with an authorised court bailiff.

Protected earnings rate

A court bailiff cannot attach the employee's entire salary. They are allowed to keep part of their wages for living expenses and fixed costs (attachment threshold or protected earnings rate, PER). Generally, the PER is at least 95% of the social assistance standard including holiday pay (in Dutch). The court bailiff uses information from the Personal Records Database (BRP) and income data from the UWV income data register (polisadministratie) to calculate the PER.

You may not pay your employee more than the protected earnings rate. You have to transfer the part of the wages eligible for attachment to the court bailiff. If several court bailiffs attach your employee’s earnings, you must transfer the money to the 1st court bailiff, unless the they tell you to transfer the money to another one.

When does the attachment of earnings end?

An attachment of earnings ends when:

• your employee has paid their debt
• your employee no longer works for you (the employment contract ends)

The court bailiff will inform you when the attachment of earnings ends. You are not allowed to end it yourself.