Deductions from Wages

Following the Bear Scotland case the Government was concerned about a big liability for employers with employees bringing claims going back many years.  A Government taskforce was put together and in a very swift act of legislation the Deduction from Wages (Limitation) Regulations 2014 has now been born. The Regulations will limit unlawful deduction from wages claims to two years before the Et1 is presented for claims presented after 1st July 2015.  This is with the exception of claims for SMP, SSP and guarantee payments which are not covered by the new rules. The Regulations also state that the right to paid holiday is not to be incorporated as an implied term in employment contracts. The legislation should limit the number of employees able to bring historical claims but anyone with such a claim has a period of time (until 1st July 2015) to take action.  The date chosen is interesting as this is out of kilter with the traditional April and October legislation updates.  No doubt watch this space for challenges to the new legislation.