Deductions from pay - Employee/ Employers rights

Nensi

Hello everyone, I am new here and this is my first topic on "Boards.ie" forum. I hope that together we will be able to find answers to my queries. I'll get straight to the point.
I am trying to interpret some points of "Payment of Wages Act, 1991" and I am not 100% sure if I am doing it right.
I want to ask You guys about deductions from wages. Section 5(2)(iv) of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 says that employer isn’t allowed to make deductions unless: (I quote Section 5(2)(iv)) :

- "in case the deduction is in respect of an act or omission of the employee, the employee has been furnished, at least one week before the making of the deduction, with particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of the deduction."
And now my questions are:

1. If I don't receive a written notice of a deduction at least one week in advance will my employer be allowed to make deductions from my wages anyway?
2. Do I have to sign the notification if I receive?
3. How can my employer prove that he delivered a notice of deduction to me? How should my employer do that effectively?

I will be thankful for any answers.

Losty Dublin

You may be better off asking this in the taxation section; perhaps there will be payroll experts or accountant types on hand there who would know better.

davo10

Op, are you talking about government levies and taxes such as USC, PRSI and income tax? Or are you talking deductions due to absence from work/ reclaiming overpayment etc?

Tax/levies are statutory, every employee has to pay them and your employer automatically deducts them from your pay, the amounts will be on your payslip.

If you are absent from work due to illness, theee is no entitlement to pay unless otherwise stated in your contract, again this is automatically deducted at your next payroll period.

If you were overpaid and the employer is reclaiming overpayment, again this is allowed but the employer should inform you of the deductions being made to your wage, you'll have to Google the rules on that.

Assuming you receive either paper or digital payslips each time you are paid, that will be a record of deduction and the employer can just give you notification with your payslip.

Flincher

davo10 wrote: »

Op, are you talking about government levies and taxes such as USC, PRSI and income tax? Or are you talking deductions due to absence from work/ reclaiming overpayment etc?

Tax/levies are statutory, every employee has to pay them and your employer automatically deducts them from your pay, the amounts will be on your payslip.

If you are absent from work due to illness, theee is no entitlement to pay unless otherwise stated in your contract, again this is automatically deducted at your next payroll period.

If you were overpaid and the employer is reclaiming overpayment, again this is allowed but the employer should inform you of the deductions being made to your wage, you'll have to Google the rules on that.

Assuming you receive either paper or digital payslips each time you are paid, that will be a record of deduction and the employer can just give you notification with your payslip.

The section the OP is referring to is in relation to a deduction for an act or omission made by the employee (e.g. to cover the cost of property damage done by the employee) or services provided by the employer for the employee. It specifically doesn't relate to over-payment of wages or payroll deductions

Speaking generally without regard to the OP's circumstances, an email from employer to employee a week before the deduction would be sufficient. The employee wouldn't be required to sign the notice as the employer would be able to show the email was successfully delivered.

The employer isn't allowed make a deduction if they have not provided the employee with the required notice.

GM228

davo10 wrote: »

If you were overpaid and the employer is reclaiming overpayment, again this is allowed but the employer should inform you of the deductions being made to your wage, you'll have to Google the rules on that.

There is no requirement to inform an employee of any deductions in relation to recovering an overpayment.

Bayb12

Would this apply to a paycheck being deducted/withheld by an employer who has paid for something on behalf of the employee?

davo10

GM228 wrote: »

There is no requirement to inform an employee of any deductions in relation to recovering an overpayment.

Are you sure?

https://amp.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/recovering-overpay-from-former-employee-27145520.html

GM228

davo10 wrote: »

Are you sure?

https://amp.independent.ie/regionals/droghedaindependent/news/recovering-overpay-from-former-employee-27145520.html

100% sure, you may have missed this part from the article:-

There are of course deductions not covered by the Act which often causes more confusion, and suffice to say that the rules I have included do not cover deductions from wages or payments received from employees in respect of: recovery of overpayments of wages or expenses, made (for any reason) by the employer to the employee, provided the the amount of the deduction does not exceed the amount of the overpayment.

It is specifically covered under the Payment of Wages Act.

davo10

GM228 wrote: »

100% sure, you may have missed this part from the article:-



It is specifically covered under the Payment of Wages Act.

Sorry. Thanks.