Challenging an incorrect or unidentified deduction
Copy, paste and personalise our letter templates below to query your employer about how the NHS pay award has been implemented.
Your employer is entitled to withhold your pay for each day you take part in strike action. This deduction should be clearly marked on your payslip as a deduction due to strike action.
If you are salaried, this deduction should be equivalent to 1/365th of your salary. If your contract specifies normal working hours and your pay is calculated by the hour, your deduction should be for the hours not worked.
Check your payslip carefully. If you’re an RCN member, use these letter templates to challenge a deduction.
Scenario 1: Deductions have been made to your pay without detail of why.
Dear HR,
I believe that you have made a deduction to my pay. The RCN has advised me that I should be able to clearly identify on my pay slip the amount and reason for any deductions before a deduction is made. Please repay me the amount that was deducted and, for any future deductions, make clear the reason and amount.
Please see below the message from the RCN on this matter:
If you are deducting pay from staff for participating in strike action, you must ensure that the member of staff is able to clearly identify the reason for, and amount of, the deduction on their pay slip on or before the pay date.
If you fail to do so, you will be in breach of section 8(2)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and our members will be able to apply to an Employment Tribunal for an order that you repay them any unidentified deductions, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Yours sincerely,
<Insert your name here>
Scenario 2: Your employer has deducted the wrong amount from your pay, and the amount or reason for the deduction is not clear.
Dear <insert name of Director of HR/People>,
I believe that you have made a deduction to my pay on <date of pay>. The RCN has advised me that I should be able to clearly identify on my pay slip the amount and reason for any deductions before a deduction is made. Please repay me the amount that was deducted and, for any future deductions, make clear the reason and amount.
If the deduction was made for participating in the Industrial Action on <insert date(s) here> then I believe you have miscalculated the sum and deducted too much.
The NHS Conditions of Service, Part 2, section 7, apportions salaries on the basis of calendar days, not working days, and the RCN has advised me that this should be the basis for calculating absences for strike action.
When deducting pay for participating in strike action you can only deduct a calendar day’s pay (1/30th or 1/31st of my monthly salary, depending on the number of days in the relevant month) for each day I have missed work through strike action.
Please see below the message/position from the RCN on this matter:
If you are deducting pay from staff for participating in strike action, you must ensure that the member of staff is able to clearly identify the reason for, and amount of, the deduction on their pay slip on or before the pay date.
If you fail to do so, you will be in breach of section 8(2)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and our members will be able to apply to an Employment Tribunal for an order that you repay them any unidentified deductions, in accordance with section 12(4) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
I look forward to you rectifying this situation as a matter of urgency.
Yours sincerely,
<Insert your name here>
Scenario 3: your employer has deducted the incorrect amount from your pay for taking part in strike action.
Dear HR,
You have made a deduction to my pay on <date of payment> of <gross figure of deduction> for participating in the RCN Industrial Action on <insert date(s) here>.
I believe you have miscalculated the sum and deducted too much.
The NHS Conditions of Service, Part 2, section 7, apportions salaries on the basis of calendar days, not working days, and the RCN has advised me that this should be the basis for calculating absences for strike action.
My monthly salary is <insert monthly salary here> which means my daily rate should be <calculate monthly salary divided by 31> per day during months with 31 days and <calculate monthly salary divided by 30> per day during months with 30 days so you should only have deducted a total of <insert total correct deductions>.
Please reimburse me the sum of <deduction made less correct deduction> in my next pay.
In future when deducting pay for participating in strike action you can only deduct a calendar day’s pay (1/30th or 1/31st of my monthly salary, depending on the number of days in the relevant month) for each day I have missed work through strike action.
I look forward to you rectifying this situation as a matter of urgency.
Yours sincerely,
<Insert your name here>
