Employer is deducting my wages for a mistake I made. Is this allowed?
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Employer is deducting my wages for a mistake I made. Is this allowed?

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23.08.2026

I accidentally caused minor damage to a piece of equipment at my workplace in Malta while doing my normal job, and my employer has started deducting the estimated repair cost directly from my monthly salary without asking me first or getting my agreement. Can they just take this out of my pay like that?

Site Administration 25.08.2026
reply date: 25.08.2026

Deductions from an employee's wages in Malta are generally restricted under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act, Chapter 452 of the Laws of Malta, and typically an employer cannot simply deduct amounts from your salary for things like accidental workplace damage without either your specific written consent to that particular deduction, or a clear pre-existing contractual term that validly allows for it, and even then, such deductions are usually scrutinised more closely when they relate to ordinary accidental mistakes made in the course of your normal duties rather than genuine misconduct or negligence. If your employer deducted this amount without your agreement and without a clear contractual basis, this is likely an unlawful deduction from wages, regardless of whether the underlying damage claim itself might have some validity. Request a written explanation from your employer of the legal or contractual basis for the deduction, and formally object to it in writing if none is provided. If the deduction continues without proper justification, you can file a complaint with the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations to recover the deducted amount.

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