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If the employer concerned is not insolvent, the employee can approach the Legal Aid Department for assistance in registering the award in the District Court as a judgement and then seek to enforce this judgement through the various means under the existing legal system. These enforcement instruments include the execution of a 'writ fi. fa.' as mentioned above, a 'charging order' to recover the award from the proceeds of sale when the employer sells the property, a 'garnishee order' requiring the bankers or debtors of the employer to pay the bank deposits or debts to the employee, or filing a petition for bankruptcy or winding up of the employer at the High Court. The time taken under these procedures varies from two to five months.
As the circumstances surrounding the employer's default payment of compensation to the employee and the legal procedures involved differ from case to case, it is impracticable to stipulate an across-the-board time limit within which any award payment should be settled.
End