Deduction of employees’ salary as form of punishment illegal – Legal Consultant

A private legal consultant and Honorary Fellow of the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners (IHRMP), Ghana, Mr. Alexander Williams, has questioned certain practises of HR Practitioners and Managers, including the practise of employers or HR Managers deducting from employees’ salary as a form of punishment or sanction.

He advised employers to desist from the practise as it is an illegality contrary to the provisions of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651). He referred to deductions prohibited under the Labour Act, 2003 (651) quoting the obligatory provision of Section 69 (2) as follows:

“An employer shall not (a) impose a pecuniary penalty upon a worker for any cause whatsoever; or (b) deduct from remuneration due to a worker, any amount whatsoever,”

He further advised that even for the sanction of demotions, you do not touch the worker’s salary. Questioned further what then to do, he urged employers and HR Managers to find other forms of punishment as stated in the oorganization’s Conditions of Service.

Mr. Alexander Williams made this call when facilitating a two-day training programme organized by the Institute of Human Resource Management Practitioners (IHRMP), Ghana in Accra with the theme, The HR Professional and Legal Compliance – the 4Cs in Human Resource Legal Relations.

The two-day training programme was highly patronised by practitioners and some trade unions from sectors including mining, banking, hospitality, hospitals, universities, and some private and public service institutions.