What is an unlawful deduction of wages?
If your employer takes money out of your wages without your written consent, the deduction could be deemed unlawful.
Has your employer unlawfully deducted your wages?
It is important to first figure out whether the deduction is unlawful or not. For example, you may have signed a contract stating that your employer may deduct wages for certain reasons.
What are your legal options?
You can speak to your employer, a lawyer or the Fair Work Ombudsman for assistance on the deduction.
How do our employment lawyers help you?
We can help you by identifying whether or not the deduction is legal and if it is, give you some options as to what to do about it.
Frequently Asked Questions
My employer has deducted money for a course I took, can they do that?
Your employer may be able to deduct the monies but this is dependent on your employment contract and whether it is in writing or not.
My employer told me that they made a mistake with my wages and now they want me to pay it back, do I have to do this?
This depends on whether or not the payment was a clerical error or not. This is a complicated issue in employment law and we recommend that you contact us, or the Fair Work Ombudsman, about this.
If I quit my job and I owe money to my employer, do I have to pay them back?
This depends on what the deduction was for. Your employer may be able to commence an action in the Courts to recover moneys owed to them.