An employer can recover an overpayment of wages by deductions from wages only in strictly limited circumstances. These are set out in the Wages Protection Act. Contact Employment Relations Infoline for more information. Employers must keep wages and time records for each employee, for six years. Employees and their representatives have the right to see these.
Employers have obligations to keep holiday records .
These may be kept as part of the wages and time records. The Authority will hear wages claims dating back six years. Employees can also ask the Authority to order the employer to comply in future with agreed conditions of employment, including pay rates. Sometimes a business may go into receivership with wages and holiday pay owing to employees. When a business is in receivership, its debts are ranked in order of priority as set out by law.