Bailiff information request: what to do?

Questioner

Am I, as an employer, obliged to respond to a bailiff's request for information or not? It simply states that we are obliged to respond within 5 days, but I read on an HR site that we are not obliged to respond at all. Unless it is actually a wage garnishment. In addition, the employee was immediately informed, he contacted them himself regarding a payment agreement. Now I receive such a request for information again. I find this so strange, is this allowed? Do I have to cooperate, despite the fact that the employee has made an arrangement?

Lawyer

No, you are not obliged to comply with a request for information from a bailiff. Only if he has a judgment can he seize an employee's wages and request the related information. So you can demand that the bailiff first shows you the judgment on the basis of which he requests the information.

Questioner

Thank you very much!!!

Questioner

Dear Mr. Martens, De Schout Gerechtsdeurwaarders has now indicated that we are obliged to provide this information, in accordance with Article 475g paragraph 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Is this really true? The fact that a payment arrangement has been agreed upon does not put an end to this obligation. According to the bailiff.

Lawyer

According to Article 475 g paragraph 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, notification only needs to be made to: 'A bailiff who is authorized to seize assets against a debtor' So the bailiff will first have to prove that he is entitled to seize and he can do that by showing a gross of a judgment or petition from which it follows that he is allowed to seize. Bailiffs sometimes also act not in their capacity as bailiff but as a kind of collection agency. That is why the bailiff will first have to prove that he may and can request the data in his capacity as bailiff. If the bailiff proves this by means of a gross copy, you must communicate the payment terms and their amount as well as any attachments that have been imposed.