What your employer can deduct from your salary
Employment Act; State Department for Labour and Skills Development · sources read 2 Oct 2026
Your employer can only deduct what the law allows, such as statutory deductions, deductions you agreed to in writing, up to one day's pay for each day you were absent without leave, and a reasonable amount for damage you caused on purpose. All deductions at any one time can't be more than two-thirds of your wages.
- Deadline
- Complain to a labour officer within 3 years of the unlawful deduction
- Where
- Your area labour office; the Employment and Labour Relations Court
Steps
- Ask for your pay statement. Your employer must give it at or before each payment, showing your gross pay and every deduction and what it is for.
- If a deduction is unlawful, complain to a labour officer. The employer can be made to repay what was wrongly deducted.
- Report it to the labour officer in your area. They register your complaint on Form LD 64 and call you and the employer to a conciliation meeting.
- You can also take the case to the Employment and Labour Relations Court, which hears employment disputes.
Watch out
- Even lawful deductions together can't take more than two-thirds of your wages at any one time.
- An employer can't deduct money from you for giving you the job or keeping you in it.
- The payslip rule doesn't cover casual workers, piece-rate or task-rate workers, or jobs of six months or less.
Who this covers
- Allowed: deductions required by law (such as tax), a collective agreement, court order or award, and pension or scheme contributions you agreed to.
- Allowed: up to one day's wages for each full working day you were away without leave or a lawful reason.
- Allowed: a reasonable amount for damage or loss of the employer's property caused by your wilful default.
- Allowed: cash shortages caused by your negligence or dishonesty, if your contract puts you in charge of handling money.
- Allowed: money paid to you by mistake above your wages, and amounts you asked in writing to be deducted.
- Allowed: repayment of a loan from your employer under a written agreement, but not more than 50% of your wages left after other deductions.
Official sources (3)
- Employment Act, 2007 (No. 11 of 2007) labour.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026
- Handling of Labour Disputes labour.go.ke · read 2 Oct 2026