Section 158 — District Court Act 2016: Liability of employer

158 Liability of employer (1) Subject to section 157(3) , as long as an attachment order remains in force, the employer to whom it relates must from time to time, whenever any salary and wages are due and payable by the employer to the judgment debtor,— (a) deduct from that money a sufficient amount to satisfy the charge on the money so far as the charge has accrued before the day on which the salary or wages becomes due and payable; and (b) not later than the 20th day of the next month after the month in which the deduction is made, pay the amount so deducted to the person specified in the attachment order. (2) All amounts so deducted and paid must be taken to have been paid by the employer in satisfaction of the salary or wages payable by the employer to the judgment debtor. (3) All amounts so deducted must be taken to have been paid by the judgment debtor in satisfaction of the judgment debtor’s liability to pay the judgment debt. (4) If the judgment debtor gives notice of resignation, or is given notice of dismissal, from the employment of the employer to whom the attachment order relates, the employer must, within 5 working days after receiving or giving the notice, notify the person referred to in section 156(e) of the date of the last day of the judgment debtor’s employment. (5) If the employer to whom the attachment order relates ceases to pay salary or wages to the judgment debtor for a reason other than the judgment debtor’s dismissal or resignation from the employment of the employer, the employer must, within 5 working days after ceasing to pay the salary or wages, notify the person referred to in section 156(e) of the day on which the salary or wages ceased to be paid. (6) Where the employer makes default in the payment of any money in satisfaction of a charge created by an attachment order, that money becomes a debt due by the employer to the judgment creditor and may be recovered by the judgment creditor by action in any court of competent jurisdiction. (7) An employer who fails without reasonable excuse to comply with subsection (1)(a) or (b) commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000. Compare: 1947 No 16 s 84J