Under what circumstances can my employer make a lawful deduction of my salary?

One of three conditions must be met for an employer to lawfully make deductions from wages or take payments from a worker. The deduction or payment must be:

• required or authorised by legislation (e.g. income tax or NI deductions);

• authorised by your contract of employment – provided your have been given a written copy of the relevant terms or a written explanation of the same;

• you consented to the deduction in writing before it was made.

There are some exceptions which allow an employer to recover payments from your salary, for example, where there has been an earlier overpayment of wages or expenses.