Payroll costs
Assignable and attachable portion of wages: how much can you deduct from a salary?
Monday morning at Sahel Fret SARL, a road haulier with 60 employees in Bamako, two letters are waiting for the payroll team: a garnishment notice targeting the wages of Moussa, a heavy-goods driver, and a letter from a microfinance lender that wants to be repaid directly from his pay. At the same time, the fleet manager asks for the cost of a mirror Moussa broke while manoeuvring to be deducted. Three requests for a single payslip. How much can you take without leaving Moussa with nothing to live on, and without exposing yourself to a penalty?
Sahel Fret SARL and its employees are fictitious names, used for illustration only.
1. What exactly are we talking about?
Take Moussa's payslip. Some lines leave his salary without anyone deciding: income tax and social contributions. Others arise from a debt Moussa owes someone: the microfinance lender, the creditor who garnished his wages, perhaps Sahel Fret itself. It is these that the law caps.
The quotité is the maximum share of the salary that can be taken to pay the employee's debts. It is called the assignable portion (quotité cessible) when the employee agrees to the deduction himself, and the attachable portion (quotité saisissable) when it is imposed on him. In Mali, both follow the same scale (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996, articles D.123-1 and D.123-2).
Two ways to deduct, one ceiling
A voluntary wage assignment is the written agreement by which the employee authorises the employer to pay part of his salary to a creditor, that is, someone he owes money to. A garnishment (saisie) is the procedure by which a creditor obtains, through the courts, an order for the employer to deduct from the salary directly. The Code allows both deductions "within certain limits" (Labour Code, article L.123).
The same article sets a rule that is often overlooked. If the employee owes you money, for example to make good some damage, you may set it off only within the attachable portion. Set-off means settling your claim by deducting it from the salary you owe him.
| Deduction | Who decides | Capped by the scale? |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax on salaries and social contributions | The law (article L.122) | No |
| Voluntary wage assignment | The employee, in writing | Yes |
| Garnishment | The creditor, through the courts | Yes |
| Employee's debt to you (set-off) | You, if the debt is real | Yes |
| Repayment of a salary advance | Through an assignment or a garnishment (article L.124) | Yes |
| Payment on account for work already done (acompte) | Part-payment of the salary (article L.125) | No |
Statutory deductions, such as income tax and contributions, are covered in our article on salary. Here, only the deductions subject to the scale matter.
Why a ceiling
The ceiling protects a minimum to live on. Without it, an indebted employee could see his whole salary disappear, with nothing left to live on and no reason to come to work. It also prevents payroll from becoming a collection desk for all his creditors.
The most common mistake
Believing that the employer can deduct whatever the employee owes, whenever it wants. That is wrong. No deduction is allowed outside those provided for by the Code, and fines are prohibited (Labour Code, article L.121). A deduction decided unilaterally, as a punishment, is a disguised fine.
What the Code does not provide for, payroll does not deduct.
What you need to do
- Classify every deduction on the payslip: statutory (tax, contributions) or subject to the scale (assignment, garnishment, set-off, advance).
- Require a written assignment signed by the employee before any deduction in favour of a lender.
- Show each garnishment, assignment and repayment of a payment on account on a separate line of the payslip (Labour Code, article L.105).
2. The scale: four bands, four ceilings
The decree sets the ceiling according to the monthly salary. The higher the salary, the larger the share that can be deducted (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, article D.123-2).
| Monthly salary (XOF) | Maximum deductible share | Share left to the employee |
|---|---|---|
| 20,960 to 62,880 | 1/4 | 3/4 |
| 62,881 to 125,760 | 1/3 | 2/3 |
| 125,761 to 251,520 | 1/2 | 1/2 |
| Over 251,521 | 3/4 | 1/4 |
Why the fraction rises with the salary
On a small salary, every franc goes on living costs: the law protects three quarters of it. On a high salary, the remaining quarter is enough to cover the essentials. The scale does not protect a percentage; it protects a minimum to live on.
Example. Moussa earns 150,000 XOF a month.
Band: 125,761 to 251,520 XOF
Fraction: 1/2
Ceiling: 150,000 × 1/2 = 75,000 XOF
Sahel Fret cannot deduct more than 75,000 XOF a month from Moussa's salary, all assignments and garnishments combined.
A trap imported from French law
In France, the attachable portion is calculated in steps: one rate on the first slice of the salary, another on the next, and so on. The Malian decree provides for nothing of the kind. It applies a single fraction to the whole salary, according to the band it falls in. Calculating a salary paid in Mali in steps means applying another country's rule.
One fraction, applied to the whole salary: the band decides.
What you need to do
- Place each employee concerned in his band every month, based on that month's salary.
- Apply the fraction to the whole salary, without step-by-step calculation.
- Redo the calculation as soon as the salary moves into another band.
3. Which base to use: what goes in, what stays out
Sahel Fret's payroll officer hesitates: should Moussa's travel expenses count? The answer is in the decree. The base includes the salary and its accessories, that is, the bonuses and allowances paid on top of the basic salary. Some sums are excluded (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, articles D.123-1 and D.123-2).
| Included in the base | Excluded from the base |
|---|---|
| Basic salary | Family allowances and family-related bonuses |
| Work-related bonuses and allowances | Allowances declared exempt from attachment by regulation |
| Overtime | Reimbursement of expenses incurred by the employee (travel, hospitalisation) |
Why these sums are excluded
A reimbursement of expenses is not income: it gives back to the employee what he paid out for his work. Family-related sums are there to support children, not to pay creditors. Counting them in the base would mean deducting money that does not pay for work.
Example. In March, Moussa receives his salary and bonuses, plus the reimbursement of a trip to Kayes.
Basic salary and bonuses: 150,000 XOF
Reimbursement of travel expenses: 25,000 XOF
Calculation base: 150,000 XOF (expenses stay out)
Ceiling: 150,000 × 1/2 = 75,000 XOF
Had the payroll officer counted the expenses, he would have reached 175,000 × 1/2 = 87,500 XOF. That is 87,500 − 75,000 = 12,500 XOF deducted too much, every month the error is repeated.
Gross or net: the text does not say
The decree refers to the "monthly salary" without saying whether tax and contributions should be taken off first. Choose a method, write it into your payroll procedure and apply it to everyone. If in doubt, ask your local labour inspectorate before the first deduction.
Salary and bonuses go into the base. Expenses and family sums stay out.
What you need to do
- Isolate, on each payslip, reimbursed expenses and family-related sums before calculating the ceiling.
- Set out in writing the method chosen (gross or net) and apply it to all employees.
- Configure the payroll software so that it automatically excludes these items from the base.
4. Several creditors, one envelope
Back to Monday morning. Six months ago, Moussa signed an assignment of 50,000 XOF a month in favour of his microfinance lender. The garnishment comes on top. The fleet manager, for his part, is waiting for the price of the mirror.
The ceiling does not apply creditor by creditor. It sets the share of the salary that can be deducted in total. Assignments, garnishments, set-off and repayment of advances share the same envelope.
Example. Moussa's payslip for April.
Envelope: 150,000 × 1/2 = 75,000 XOF
Assignment to the microfinance lender: 50,000 XOF
Still available: 75,000 − 50,000 = 25,000 XOF
Deduction under the garnishment: 25,000 XOF at most
Deduction for the mirror: 0 XOF, the envelope is full
The Code does not say which creditor comes first. What it sets is the total. If the claims exceed the envelope, do not exceed it: inform the creditors concerned in writing and take advice before splitting the amount.
Payment on account or advance: the difference that changes everything
A payment on account (acompte) is early payment for work already done. It counts as part of the salary and stays outside the scale (Labour Code, article L.125). An advance is money paid for work not yet done: a loan from the employer. It is repaid through a voluntary assignment or a garnishment (Labour Code, article L.124), and therefore through the same envelope.
If Sahel Fret had also granted Moussa an advance, it could recover nothing in April: the envelope is already taken by the microfinance lender and the garnishment.
Assignments, garnishments, advances, debts: everyone draws from the same envelope.
What you need to do
- Keep a monthly record of the envelope for each employee concerned: ceiling, deductions already committed, amount available.
- Have a written assignment signed for every advance, with a repayment schedule that fits within the envelope.
- Never exceed the ceiling, even when several creditors make claims at the same time.
5. Housing loans: the only exception that widens the envelope
Aminata, an assistant accountant at Sahel Fret, earns 60,000 XOF a month. Her bank lends her the money to extend her house and asks to be repaid directly from her salary. Here, the decree allows a larger share.
When a bank or financial institution lends money to build or improve a home, the ceiling rises for the repayment of that loan (Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, article D.123-2, paragraph 2).
| Monthly salary | Ordinary ceiling | Ceiling for a housing loan |
|---|---|---|
| Below 62,880 XOF | 1/4 | 1/3 |
| Below 125,760 XOF (above the previous level) | 1/3 | 1/2 |
| Higher | 1/2 or 3/4 | Unchanged |
Example. Aminata's housing loan.
Salary: 60,000 XOF
Ordinary ceiling: 60,000 × 1/4 = 15,000 XOF
Ceiling for the housing loan: 60,000 × 1/3 = 20,000 XOF
The bank can receive up to 20,000 XOF a month. The higher rate applies to this loan only.
Why this exception
The rule encourages access to housing. It allows an employee on a modest salary to borrow more to build or renovate a home.
The argument that never holds
Applying the higher rate to any loan: a motorbike, equipment, family expenses. The text covers only sums lent by a bank or financial institution to build or improve a home. A loan from a tontine or from the employer does not qualify.
Only a bank housing loan widens the envelope. Every other debt stays on the scale.
What you need to do
- Ask the bank for a document stating the purpose of the loan before applying the higher rate.
- Keep this document in the employee's file.
- Apply the ordinary scale to every other debt.
6. What an excessive deduction costs
The fleet manager insists: "Deduct the 40,000 XOF for the mirror." If the aim is to punish Moussa, it is a fine, and fines are prohibited. If it is a genuine debt, established and acknowledged, it can only go through set-off, within the envelope. This month, the envelope is full.
What the law provides
A deduction made outside the permitted cases exposes the employer to a fine of 10,000 to 18,000 XOF. For a repeat offence, the fine rises to 20,000 to 50,000 XOF, with possible imprisonment of 6 to 10 days (Labour Code, article L.321). The fine is incurred as many times as there are offences (Labour Code, article L.335).
The employee can also claim back sums wrongly deducted for three years (Labour Code, article L.118). The fines are set out in detail in our article What fines does the employer face?
Example. The base error from section 3 lasts a year.
Over-deduction per month: 12,500 XOF
Over 12 months: 12,500 × 12 = 150,000 XOF to repay to Moussa
Maximum fine if each month counts as one offence: 18,000 × 12 = 216,000 XOF
Total exposure: 150,000 + 216,000 = 366,000 XOF
An excessive deduction must be paid back, and it costs extra on top.
What you need to do
- Refuse any deduction decided to punish an employee and, if needed, use the disciplinary procedure instead.
- Check every month that total deductions subject to the scale stay below the ceiling.
- Repay any amount deducted too much without delay, on the next payslip.
7. A closer look: 1996 thresholds and a threshold effect
Thresholds never updated
The bands of the scale date from 1996. Decree No. 2022-0125/PT-RM of 4 March 2022 amended several articles of the 1996 decree, but not article D.123-2. Yet the SMIG, the statutory minimum wage, is 40,000 XOF a month (Decree No. 2015-0363/P-RM). Any full-time salary therefore falls at least within the first band.
For a salary below 20,960 XOF, which is possible part-time, the decree sets no fraction. In that case, make no deduction without the opinion of the labour inspectorate.
The threshold effect
Read literally, the decree applies the fraction to the whole salary. One franc more can therefore move a salary into the next band, and the ceiling jumps.
Example. Two salaries one franc apart.
Salary of 62,880 XOF: 62,880 × 1/4 = 15,720 XOF
Salary of 62,881 XOF: 62,881 × 1/3 = 20,960 XOF (rounded)
Difference: 20,960 − 15,720 = 5,240 XOF for one extra franc of salary
This jump follows from the text as written. Check the band carefully when a salary sits close to a threshold.
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Deduct from a salary only what the Code provides for: tax and contributions, assignments, garnishments, set-off and repayment of advances, never a fine.
- Apply the decree's scale: 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 or 3/4 of the monthly salary according to its band, on the whole salary, without French-style steps.
- Calculate on the salary and its bonuses, leaving out reimbursed expenses and family-related sums.
- Fit all assignments, garnishments, set-offs and advances into a single envelope, however many creditors there are.
- Reserve the higher rate (1/3 or 1/2) for bank loans to build or improve a home only.
- Check total deductions every month: an over-deduction can be claimed back for three years and costs up to 18,000 XOF in fines per offence.