What a garnishee order is
If you do not pay a debt and the creditor obtains a judgment against you in the magistrate's court, it can ask the court for an emoluments attachment order. The order instructs your employer — for a public servant, the department's payroll through PERSAL — to deduct a fixed amount from your salary every month and pay it to the creditor until the debt and costs are settled.
Your employer may keep a commission of up to 5% of the amounts deducted, taken from what is paid to the creditor. Under the Treasury Regulations, the payroll office must also be satisfied that the order was authorised by a court or consented to by you before it starts deducting.
A court must approve it
On 13 September 2016 the Constitutional Court ruled that an emoluments attachment order may not be issued by a clerk on paper alone: a court must be satisfied that it is just and equitable and that the amount is appropriate. Section 65J of the Magistrates' Courts Act now says the same, and also requires the creditor to give you and your employer notice before the order is issued.
You then have ten days to object. Valid objections include a wrong amount, or that your salary is already committed to other orders. Keep every letter you receive about a judgment or an attachment, and note the dates.
The 25% limit
The instalment under an emoluments attachment order — or all instalments together, if there is more than one — may not exceed 25% of your basic salary. Basic salary here means your annual gross salary divided by 12, without overtime and allowances. Where several creditors have orders, the court must hear everyone before it divides that amount between them.
You must also be left with enough to support yourself and your dependants. If an order leaves you without that, the court must cancel it or limit it to what you earn above that level.
How to challenge an order
A court may suspend, amend or rescind an emoluments attachment order at any time if you show good cause. Common reasons are that the debt has been paid, the amount is wrong, the order was never properly authorised, or the deductions leave you unable to meet basic living costs. A legal aid clinic or a consumer lawyer can help you bring the application.
If deductions continue after the debt is paid, your employer must stop them, and an employer that unreasonably fails to stop on time must repay what it wrongly deducted. Ask the payroll office for a statement of everything deducted under the order.
Before it comes to an order
If you are behind on several accounts, talk to the creditors early or see a debt counsellor: once you have applied for debt review, creditors may not start legal action on the debts under review. Our guide on debt review for government employees explains how it works with a PERSAL salary.
If you are comparing new credit, our page on loans for government employees explains what to check, including the deductions already on your payslip.