Can an employer deduct from your salary?
Caleb Adeleye
Yesterday, a lady lamented to me that her employer deducted 53k from her salary and paid her 6k for the month because a customer’s money was reversed.
Can an employer deduct from your salary?
Legally speaking, generally, no employer has any right to deduct any amount from your agreed wages except deductions permitted by law, such as taxes, pension and other statutory deductions.
For an for an employer to legally deduct the wage of an employee for damages or harm done to his business- the following must be done:
1. The written consent of an authorized labour officer is required.
2. The proposed deduction must be reasonable
3. The deduction can only be made in respect of injury or loss caused to the employer by the willful misconduct or neglect of the employee. Anything outside the above is illegal.
It is important to note that the law forbids an employer from deducting wages of an employee for damages or loss resulting from the conduct of another employee or impose a fine for damages unconnected to the action of an employee. Where this happens, the employee can insist on being paid or engage a lawyer for proper legal advice.
