Women’s Charter 1961 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 9 · Enforcement of Maintenance Orders
91E. Duty to comply with attachment of earnings order
Last amended by an amending law of 2023.
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
A person to whom an attachment of earnings order is directed must, despite anything in any other written law but subject to the provisions of this Subdivision, comply with the order or, if the order is subsequently varied under section 91D(1), with the order as so varied.
attachment of earnings order
“attachment of earnings order” means an order by a court requiring the person to whom the order in question is directed (being a person appearing to the court to be a respondent’s employer) to make payments in satisfaction of the order out of the earnings falling to be paid to the respondent;
Where, on any occasion on which earnings fall to be paid to a respondent, there are in force 2 or more attachment of earnings orders relating to those earnings, then, for the purpose of complying with subsection (1), the person to whom those orders are directed must —
earnings
“earnings”, in relation to a respondent, means any sums payable to the respondent —(a)by way of wages or salary, including any fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or other emoluments payable in addition to wages or salary by the person paying the wages or salary or payable under a contract of service; or(b)by way of pension, including an annuity in respect of past services, whether or not the services were rendered to the person paying the annuity, and including periodical payments by way of compensation for the loss, abolition or relinquishment, or any diminution in the emoluments, of any office or employment;
deal with those orders according to the respective dates on which they came into force, disregarding any later order until all earlier orders have been dealt with; and
deal with any later order as if the earnings to which it relates were the residue of the respondent’s earnings after the making of any payment pursuant to any earlier order.
A person who makes a payment pursuant to an attachment of earnings order must give to the respondent a statement in writing specifying the amount of that payment.
respondent
“respondent”, in relation to a maintenance order or a maintenance enforcement application in respect of a maintenance order, means the person liable to make payments under the maintenance order;
A person to whom an attachment of earnings order is directed who, at the time when a copy of the order is served on the person, is not and has not during the period of one month immediately preceding that time been the respondent’s employer must forthwith give notice in writing to that effect in the prescribed form to the court which made the order.
employer
“employer” means a person by whom, as a principal and not as an employee or agent, earnings fall to be paid to a respondent, and references to payment of earnings are to be construed accordingly;
Terms defined in s 76
attachment of earnings order
Defined · s 76“attachment of earnings order” means an order by a court requiring the person to whom the order in question is directed (being a person appearing to the court to be a respondent’s employer) to make payments in satisfaction of the order out of the earnings falling to be paid to the respondent;
earnings
Defined · s 76“earnings”, in relation to a respondent, means any sums payable to the respondent —(a)by way of wages or salary, including any fees, bonus, commission, overtime pay or other emoluments payable in addition to wages or salary by the person paying the wages or salary or payable under a contract of service; or(b)by way of pension, including an annuity in respect of past services, whether or not the services were rendered to the person paying the annuity, and including periodical payments by way of compensation for the loss, abolition or relinquishment, or any diminution in the emoluments, of any office or employment;
employer
Defined · s 76“employer” means a person by whom, as a principal and not as an employee or agent, earnings fall to be paid to a respondent, and references to payment of earnings are to be construed accordingly;
respondent
Defined · s 76“respondent”, in relation to a maintenance order or a maintenance enforcement application in respect of a maintenance order, means the person liable to make payments under the maintenance order;
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Part 9A
Additional Provisions Relating to Part 7, 8 or 9
Part 10
Part 10A
Amicable Settlement of Disputes
Part 10B
Court’S Power to Set Aside and Prevent Dispositions Intended to Defeat Maintenance Claims or Other Orders in Matrimonial Proceedings
Part 10C
Replacement Because of Death
Part 11
Offences Against Women and Girls
Part 12