Deductions from Wages

An employee is entitled to be given written itemised pay statements. Pay is a fundamental term of a contract of employment and failure to pay an employee will entitle the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal (assuming they have a year’s service).

Unless a contract specifically provides for it in writing, an employer is not entitled to deduct wages from a worker, unless it is for an overpayment of wages – although special rules apply in the retail industry.

In order for an employee to make a claim for wages, he/she must have complained in writing to the employer, waited 28 days from the date of the complaint before bringing a claim but must have brought the claim within six months of the date of the alleged deduction. If there are a series of deductions, then the time limit runs from the date of the last deduction – although the employee would need to show that the deductions were part of a series, as oppose to distinct separate deductions.

Wherever an employer pays an employee less than the national minimum wage, the employee will have a claim for an unlawful deduction of wages.

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