How to manage deductions from pay as a UK employer?

What are deductions from pay?

Deductions from pay are when employers take a certain amount of money off a worker’s gross wages to cover things like taxes, perks, or court orders. These deductions are normally made through a worker’s pay-check. What’s left after is the worker’s final net income, or take-home pay, which they are free to spend as they like.

What is the difference between voluntary and involuntary deductions?

In the UK, deductions from pay fall into two broad categories: voluntary and involuntary. You make voluntary deductions on behalf of your staff. In other words, an employee might decide to ‘give back’ some of their wages to your company. Pension schemes are another excellent example of this.

On the other hand, an involuntary deduction is a payment an employee can’t opt out of. Things like child maintenance or court order deductions from wages fall under this category.

There are also discretionary deductions from wages. These are specific instances where an employer exercises a contractual right to deduct money, such as recovering training costs or compensation for damage to company property. Unlike voluntary deductions from wages, these are often triggered by an event rather than an ongoing employee choice.

What are statutory deductions?

Equally, deductions from wages can be mandated by law. This is another type of pay deduction the government requires from the workforce, in order to fund various programmes and public services.

Statutory deductions include things like:

• PAYE income tax

• National Insurance (NI)

• Student or postgraduate loans

• Occupational pensions*

* Though pension inputs are voluntary, in other words, employees have the option to opt out of their scheme, by law they must be enrolled in the first place, which makes occupational pension funding a statutory deduction.

What are the rules for making deductions?

Statutory deductions (like tax and court orders) are mandated by law and do not require written consent.

For other types (voluntary or discretionary), the Employment Rights Act of 1996 states that deductions can only be made if:

• It’s written in the employee’s contract

• It was put in another form of writing and agreed beforehand

• It’s a case of an overpayment

• It’s something the employer agreed to pay on behalf of the employee - like a trade union subscription

• An employee was absent because they were on strike or taking industrial action

It’s always good practice to check any written agreements before making a deduction.

What are the most common salary deductions in the UK?

Wondering what the most common salary deductions are in the UK? Here’s a list of the main ones you’re most likely to take from an employee’s pay-check:

Income Tax (PAYE)

Let’s start with perhaps the most common (and universal) deduction. As Benjamin Franklin once put it, ‘nothing is certain except death and taxes.’ In the UK, taxes are deducted from wages through the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system, which subtracts taxes based on the employee’s tax code. Of course, there are tax-free allowances to take into account, while benefits and pensions can also affect the amount of tax employees need to pay.

National Insurance (NI)

Another mandatory type of deduction is National Insurance. The government uses this revenue to fund different kinds of state aid, from state pensions to healthcare and unemployment support. NICs also depend on an employee’s level of earnings and the NIC category they fall under.

Pensions

Saving for retirement is an essential goal for employees, which is where pension plans come in. These deductions are made from an employee’s earnings to be added to their pension scheme.

It’s your responsibility, as an employer, to enrol staff into a company pension scheme and deduct a percentage of their wages to fund their retirement pot. Staff can also make additional voluntary payments to boost their savings even further.

Student loans

It’s not uncommon for younger staff members to take out student loans to fund their higher education. As such, pay deductions are made in order to cover student loan repayments. The amount subtracted is adjusted to account for the employee’s income and their loan repayment plan.

Court orders

In some cases, court orders might require employers to deduct money from an employee’s wage. These sums are used to cover legal obligations when an employee has outstanding amounts they need to make towards a particular case.

Court-order deductions from wages will be taken after taxes and NICs have been subtracted and can be taken as either a specific amount or a percentage of wages.

Child maintenance

Similarly, employees who have child maintenance obligations could have deductions taken from their wages. In these cases, the government’s Child Maintenance Service will usually determine the amount that needs to be deducted. Court orders can also apply here.

Trade union fees

These are fees taken to cover an employee’s trade union membership if they’re a part of one. This is one example of a deduction that the employee needs to agree to ahead of time before it can be taken through payroll.

Staff perks

Some staff perks may also incur deductions. Private healthcare and gym memberships are the most common examples here. The funds are used to cover or subsidise part of these membership schemes.

Absence from duties

Whether it’s sick, unpaid, or another type of leave, there are many reasons an employee could be absent from their duties. In some of these instances, you may need to make a deduction from pay, depending on your company’s policy. A clear policy and employee handbook here will help make these absence deductions easy-to-understand, consistent and fair for all the team.

Overpayments

If an employee was overpaid as a mistake, you can deduct the excess amount from future wages.

Company loans

Finally, if an employee is receiving a loan from your company, these can be repaid via deductions as well.

Holiday pay

Sometimes, an employee might overtake their holiday entitlement. In these cases, it can be tricky to ‘claim back’ holiday pay as there is no statutory right that enables employers to automatically claw back this overpayment.

The only way to do this is by ensuring you have an employment contract provision that clearly states you can do this. Without this, there isn’t really a way to deduct holiday pay from someone’s final salary.

How can a payroll software help with deductions from pay?

If you’re constantly worrying about missing or miscalculating your deductions, you should consider payroll software.

Making deductions manually can be a huge drag on your time. But with an all-in-one payroll software, payments become a breeze as they’re automatic - no reminders or complex spreadsheets involved.

Real-time salary adjustments reflect instantly on payslips, meaning you can run payroll in minutes instead of hours.

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