Employer duties: acting as third-party debtor in Germany
For an employer in Germany, a wage garnishment means duties and a deadline. This page shows what must be declared, calculated and paid over, and works out the two-week deadline.
Third-party debtor statement due by
11 November 2026
Wednesday; two weeks from service (section 840 ZPO).
| Garnishment effective from | 28 October 2026 |
| Table that applies | from 1 July 2026 |
| Next table change | 1 July 2027 |
The garnishment takes effect on service to the third-party debtor (section 829(3) ZPO). Holidays: only nationwide ones are taken into account.
Prepared by Radif Partners · How we calculate · 2026 table (Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 80) and ZPO checked on 28 October 2026
When an employer in Germany receives a garnishment and transfer order (Pfändungs- und Überweisungsbeschluss), it becomes the third-party debtor, or Drittschuldner. The garnishment takes effect on service (section 829(3) ZPO), and from then on the employer may not pay the attachable part of the wage to the employee. If the creditor requests it together with the order, the employer must state within 2 weeks of service whether it accepts the claim and will pay, whether anyone else claims the wages and whether other creditors have already garnished them (section 840(1) ZPO). An employer that fails to do so is liable to the creditor for the resulting loss. For an order served on 5 November 2026, the deadline ends on 19 November 2026. If the last day falls on a weekend or public holiday, it moves to the next working day. Each month the employer then works out net pay under section 850e ZPO, finds the row in the garnishment table and pays the amount over. At €2,600 net with no dependants that is €708.82.
The statement under section 840 ZPO
The order puts two things on the employer. It may no longer pay the employee as far as the wage is attachable, and that ban applies from the day of service (section 829(1) and (3) ZPO). If the creditor also wants information, that request has to be delivered together with the order. The 2-week deadline for the statement under section 840 ZPO then starts.
For wages, the first three questions matter. One: does the employer accept the garnished wage claim, and to what extent will it pay? Two: does anyone else claim the wages? Three: have the wages already been garnished for other creditors, and for which debts? Questions four and five concern bank balances, namely a court ruling on non-attachability in the last twelve months and whether the account is a P-account or a joint account; an employer normally has nothing to state there. A third-party debtor that fails in this duty is liable to the creditor for the resulting loss.
| Served on | Calculated end | Deadline actually ends |
|---|---|---|
| 5 November 2026 | 19 November 2026 | Thursday, 19 November 2026 |
| 11 December 2026 | 25 December 2026 | Monday, 28 December 2026 |
| 18 September 2026 | 2 October 2026 | Friday, 2 October 2026 |
The count follows section 188(2) of the Civil Code: the deadline ends on the day two weeks later that bears the same weekday as the day of service. Section 222(2) ZPO moves the end to the next working day if it falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. Our calculator takes the nine nationwide holidays into account; please check holidays of a single federal state yourself.
Working out the deduction
For every pay period the employer follows the same steps. It takes gross pay, deducts tax and social contributions and leaves out the payments protected by section 850a ZPO, such as half of any overtime pay or a customary holiday bonus (section 850e no. 1 ZPO). With that net figure it finds the row in the garnishment table and the column for the number of people the employee supports by law. A fixed amount in the order is not needed; the reference to the table is enough. How the net figure is built is shown under working out attachable income.
Net for the garnishment table
Net for the garnishment table
€2,600
| Half of the overtime pay | − €0 |
| Christmas bonus up to €795 | − €0 |
| Holiday bonus, expenses, allowances | − €0 |
| Attachable amount | €708.82 |
If the employee has several employers, each first calculates separately. That only changes once the enforcement court combines the incomes on application; the order then states which employer accounts for the basic allowance. More under several incomes.
Maintenance orders and further creditors
If an order for maintenance arrives, that creditor may take more than the table allows; the court sets what the employee keeps. For the employer, section 850e no. 4 ZPO sets the order of payment: the maintenance creditor is served first from the part that is attachable only for maintenance. Until a clarifying court decision is served, the employer may pay according to the orders it knows of and is discharged by doing so. Details on maintenance are under maintenance garnishment.
Employers also have a lesser-known role in account protection. Under section 903(1) sentence 2 no. 2 ZPO they are among the bodies whose certificate serves as proof to the bank for the increased amounts on a P-account. The bank has to observe such a certificate for the period it was issued for. What such a certificate must contain is explained under P-account certificate.