Deduction of wages

[shieldmaiden7]

Can a team leader deduct money from wages? From what I've googled it has come up that it's illegal unless in the contract or you agree in writing to it (other than the usual deductions like NI etc)

My DH works full time at minimum wage. He's worked for the company for 10 years and loved it until recently. He has had problems in the past 2 years with having to hear unwelcome opinions from his team leader, just snarky comments about our personal life that over time has started to get DH down. For example like many others in the country we were handed our eviction notice last year. His team leader said he wasn't surprised with a circus for a family that he drags around. DH walked off as he didn't want to hear insults to his family and his team leader demanded he stood there while he shouted at DH how he's a child for walking away and then compared him to his 3 year old before continuing what he was saying about our family.

He has now been put on a performance report by his team leader for his clocking in and out times for 4 weeks, frustratingly through no fault of his own. His times show him late by a couple of minutes twice last week as well as multiple other members of staff due to the manager on the day being stuck in traffic and arriving late and another unable to unlock the gates. A third time that was flagged was when he left 15 minutes early with permission from his team manager for a doctors appointment which he made up the following day.
His team leader has now put him on report and has told him he will be deducting £2.50 for every minute he is late from now on. Is this even legal?

I think the principle is legal (it's OK to make absences unpaid) but the amount is disproportionate.

Is he in a union?

The employer can make this deduction if there is a clear rule in his contract of employment, or in a staff handbook or policy incorporated into his contract, allowing pay to be cut for this reason. However, even if there is a term in his contract, if cutting pay by means that his average basic hourly pay during the pay reference period falls below the National Minimum Wage, the employer is likely to be breaking minimum wage law.

But separately, if your DH knows that his performance is under monitoring, he’s skating on thin ice timing his commute with not even five minutes built in for unforeseen traffic or other delays. That bit he can easily remedy.

Your DH must be paid at least NMW, if he drops below that report to HMRC.

The employer can only make this deduction if there is a clear rule in your husband's contract allowing this, or there is a staff handbook or policy that covers it and is incorporated into your husband's contract.

Your husband should put in a grievance about the behaviour of this team leader. Forcing a member of staff to stand there while hurling insults about their family is totally unacceptable, as is berating him and putting him on a performance report for things that were not his fault and/or were agreed with the manager.

Get your DH to tell his boss that he will contact ACAS. They know their stuff.