Employment Practice

§   As a general rule (there are exceptions) a worker's wages or salary are inviolate. This means that, in the absence of any statutory duty to make certain deductions from a worker's pay (eg, in respect of PAYE (income tax) and National Insurance contributions) or a relevant provision in the worker's contract of employment, an employer must not presume to deduct any other sum of money (for whatever purpose) without the written permission of the worker concerned or without the authority of a court order. Protection of wages §   Legislation regulating deductions from pay (and demands for payment) is to be found in Part II of the Employment Rights Act 1996, section 13 of which states ( inter alia ) that an employer must not deduct any sum from the wages or salary of any worker unless: a.      his (or her) right to make that deduction is clearly laid down in writing in the worker 's contract, or in the written statement of employment particulars necessarily ...

Data Protection Key points §   Under the Data Protection Act 1998, employers who store and process personal data about their employees – whether in a computerised, paper-based or other relevant filing system – must ensure that the data in question serves a legitimate purpose; that it is kept under 'lock and key'; and that it is not deliberately or unwittingly disclosed to unauthorised third parties. Employees, for their part, have the right to be informed of the nature and scope of the data held on their personal files, the source of that data ( Who provided it? ), and the names or job titles of the people to whom that data has been or may be disclosed. They have the right also (on payment of a fee of up to £10) to inspect and take copies of most (if not all) of the documents concerning personal data about them that is held in their employers' filing systems. Although the term 'employee' is used throughout this section, it is as well to point out that the 'data...