Employers can legally deduct wages in 9 situations? How is employee absence calculated?

Under what circumstances can an employer legally deduct an employee’s salary? Affected by the epidemic, most companies have established a work-from-home arrangement in the past year or so, but recently it has begun to return to normal, and many people have returned to the office. Hong Kong ranks No. 1 in the world in working hours. Many people have no water for overtime work, and may have to deduct their salary for being late? How to ensure the rights and interests of employees in the “Employment Ordinance”, and under what circumstances can the bosses legally deduct employees’ wages?

9 situations where salary deductions are legal

In fact, the “Employment Ordinance” lists a total of 9 situations, indicating that employers can legally deduct employees’ salaries. The following introduces them one by one:

a) Employee absence from work

The first sentence states, “The employee is absent from work, and only the wages for the actual time of absence can be deducted.” Absence may include tardiness and absence. From the standpoint of the company, no matter whether it is going to work or returning from lunch, as long as it is late, it can be regarded as an absence from work.

The “Employment Ordinance” stipulates that the employer has the right not to pay the employer’s wages, but only within the actual absence time. In other words, even the law does not provide a “universal formula” for calculation, which is generally considered within a reasonable range.

If an employer deducts wages from employees due to absence from work, once the salary exceeds the actual absence time, he may be sentenced to illegal wage deduction. Once convicted, the employer can be fined up to 100,000 yuan and imprisoned for 1 year.

2) The employee damages or loses the employer’s goods, equipment or property due to negligence or default

If the employee “causes damage to or loss of the employer’s goods, equipment or property due to negligence or dereliction of duty”, the employer can deduct the salary from his salary, and each deduction can only be made on the basis of value. Therefore, the computers and equipment entrusted to employees by enterprises must be carefully kept and used to avoid salary deductions.

In addition, the “Employment Ordinance” also stipulates that when deducting wages, the employer can only deduct no more than one-fourth of the wages earned by the employee during the wage period, and the upper limit is 300 yuan. In other words, if the value of the goods is $4,000, the salary deduction is only $300.

3) Advances or overpayments of wages to employees by employers

If the employer has advanced or overpaid the employee’s wages, the employer can also deduct the employee’s wages for this reason. However, the deduction can only be made on a numerical basis and cannot exceed one quarter of the employee’s wages for the wage period.

4) Meals and accommodation provided by the employer to the employee

Employers may provide meals and accommodation for employees, but in fact employers can deduct employees’ salaries according to their value. Employees who receive meals provided by employers may need to pay attention, but employers only have the right to do so.

5) Employers can deduct contributions paid on behalf of employees

There are many employee benefit schemes in which the employer bears part of the contributions, including retirement schemes, provident fund schemes, severance payment schemes, medical benefit schemes or savings schemes, etc. As long as the employee makes a written request, the employer can stop paying relevant contributions on behalf of the employee and deduct the corresponding salary.

6) Amounts lent by employers to employees

Only with the written consent of the employee, the employer may deduct the amount of money lent to the employee in the form of a salary deduction to repay the loan.

7) Employers can deduct statutory paternity leave pay

In recent years, many companies have provided paid paternity leave to their employees. If the employer has paid paternity leave pay to the employee before the employee provides the required documents, but the employee fails to receive the paternity leave within three months after taking the first day of paternity leave When resigning on maternity leave, submit the required supporting documents to the employer. At this time, the employer can deduct the previously paid paternity leave pay from the employee’s salary.

Among them, the required supporting documents generally include a copy of the baby’s birth certificate, but the types of documents may vary according to the requirements of the enterprise, and the “Employment Ordinance” does not list them.

8) The employer is required by or authorized by any law

Deductions can be made if the employer is required by or authorized by any statute to make deductions from the employee’s salary.

9) Employers may deduct alimony from employees as required by the court

An employer may deduct unpaid maintenance from an employee’s wages under an garnishment of income order issued by a court.

The above information is for reference only. If you have any questions about tax declaration and accounting, we welcome your inquiries.