While it seems relatively simple to make maintenance payments, enforcing amounts due is often associated with major problems. A person possessing an enforceable title (this is an enforceable title, awarding maintenance together with an enforcement clause. Pursuant to Article 1082 of the Code of Civil Procedure in the case of maintenance, an enforcement clause is granted ex officio) has two options, i.e.
- to initiate bailiff enforcement or
- enforce the claim directly from the debtor's employer.
Bailiff enforcement
The creditor may go to the bailiff, where by submitting an application to initiate enforcement proceedings together with an enforceable title, he may begin enforcement proceedings. The bailiff first of all takes the remuneration (also includes bonuses and bonuses due to the debtor as well as profits or shares in the company fund in relation to the employment relationship - Article 881 of the Code of Civil Procedure). Then, he must inform the debtor that he cannot receive all the remuneration until the debt is fully covered. It also obliges the employer, who from that moment will not be able to pay the debtor full remuneration. It is worth mentioning that the bailiff's fee will be collected from the remuneration seized, which means that the creditor will be charged with these costs.
Execution directly from the employer
The second option is to submit an application directly to the debtor's employer (Article 88 of the Labor Code). This method can only be used for debtors employed under an employment contract. In this case, it is also necessary to submit an enforceable title.
From now on, the employer is obliged to deduct the amount due to the creditor from the debtor's remuneration, with a maximum of 60% of the remuneration being deducted. In the case of maintenance claims, there is no so-called deduction-free amount, which is important mainly for low-income people.
The employer is exempted from making deductions only if:
- maintenance payments are to be deducted for the benefit of several creditors, and the total amount that can be deducted is not sufficient to fully cover all maintenance payments,
- remuneration for work was seized by way of judicial or administrative execution
It is also the duty to inform the debtor about the attachment of remuneration from the creditor's application. In this case, all the remuneration seized will be transferred to the creditor (there is no bailiff here, whose remuneration will be deducted from the enforced sum).
In the event that it is impossible to obtain the full amount due from the debtor's remuneration, it will be more beneficial to start enforcement proceedings through a bailiff. He may also reach for other solutions than attachment of remuneration, e.g. he may carry out executions on movable property. Of course, you can always start with the enforcement through the legislator, and when it proves to be ineffective - report to the bailiff.