Deductions from wages are prohibited by law unless the worker specifically authorises it in writing in advance under the S13 Employment Rights Act 1996. This is so even if the money is owed to the employer by the worker.

It sometimes happens that a worker is dismissed but fails to return equipment or perhaps safety clothing which the employer has paid for or supplied. In this situation, the employer is still not entitled to deduct the value of the items from the final wages payment without written agreement from the employee.

In other words, the employer is not entitled to take the law into his own hands.

The employer is of course entitled to recover money which is due to him, but it cannot be recovered by deductions from the worker’s wages without the worker’s agreement.

Under The Act “wages” simply means “any sums payable to the worker by his employer in connection with his employment\”. This includes any fee, bonus, commission or holiday pay, whether payable under the worker’s contract or otherwise.

Despite the fact that an employer has no work available, he or she is still obligated to continue to pay employees who are willing to work.

Employees should also receive pay if they are sick or away on parental leave. This pay, though, may be less than normal depending on the contract. By law, most employees are entitled to the legal minimum statutory sick pay.

There are a number of circumstances where an employer can make deductions from an employee’s pay.

– Deductions for tax and national insurance are legal requirements.

– Furthermore, a clause in the employment contract can allow for deductions that cover union dues or

– payments to a pension scheme.

Other deductions will have to be agreed in writing before they are carried out. These could include genuine overpayments, industrial action or a court order.

Special rules apply to shop workers involved in cash shortages or missing stock. If an employer decides a deduction should be made, he or she must write to the employee giving details of the deduction. The deduction should be made within 12 months of the discovery of the shortage.

If a worker believes that their employer has made an unlawful deduction of wages, the first thing to do is to raise the issue with the employer. The worker should say when the deduction took place, and that there was no written agreement for the deduction to take place.

If the employer refuses to repay the money in question, then it may be possible to present a complaint to an Employment Tribunal.

There is a time limit for the case to be presented of 3 months from the date of the disputed wage payment. This limit can be extended if the tribunal considers that it was not practicable to present the claim within the 3 month period.

The tribunal can order the employer to repay money taken unlawfully from a worker. There is no cash limit on the amount that the tribunal can order to be repaid.

Paul Sharma is the Managing Partner at Sharma Solicitors. Sharma Solicitors is a specialist Employment Law firm. For further information and free confidential initial consultation please call on 0845 430 0145 Visit : http://www.sharmaemploymentlawsolicitors.co.uk/

Paul Sharma is the Managing Partner at Sharma Solicitors. Sharma Solicitors is a specialist Employment Law firm. For further information and free confidential initial consultation please call on 0845 430 0145 Visit : http://www.sharmaemploymentlawsolicitors.co.uk/

Author Bio: Paul Sharma is the Managing Partner at Sharma Solicitors. Sharma Solicitors is a specialist Employment Law firm. For further information and free confidential initial consultation please call on 0845 430 0145 Visit : http://www.sharmaemploymentlawsolicitors.co.uk/

Category: Advice
Keywords: wages claims,employment law,disability discrimination, racial discrimination,age discrimination,comp