Emoluments attachment orders in South Africa information

An emoluments attachment order in South African law is a court order whereby the judgment creditor is able to attach part of the salary or wages of the judgment debtor.^[1] Once an emoluments attachment order has been granted, the employer of the judgment debtor (who is referred to as the garnishee) is obliged (on a continuing basis, and until such time as the judgment debt has been paid in full) to pay a certain portion of the judgment debtor's salary or wages to the judgment creditor.^[2]

The employer is known as the emoluments attachment debtor or garnishee. It is important to distinguish between the employer as an emoluments attachment order debtor, or garnishee, and the actual judgment debtor. Emoluments attachment orders are signed by the judgment creditor, or by a nominated attorney, as well as by the clerk, and are served by the sheriff on the emoluments attachment debtor or garnishee.^[3] An emoluments attachment order may be executed against the emoluments attachment debtor or garnishee as if it were a judgment of the court. The order is always subject to the rights of the judgment debtor, emoluments attachment debtor or any interested party to dispute the validity or correctness of the order.^[4]

The emoluments attachment order “is a good way of proceeding against a judgment debtor who does not possess sufficient attachable assets to pay off a significant portion of the debt.”^[5] Because the money goes directly from the employer to the judgment creditor, the latter's attorney does not have to worry about the judgment debtor spending it before it can be attached. The judgment debtor also has an interest in retaining his job. As long as he does so, the debt will continue to be paid.