Can My Employer Deduct Money From My Pay in Ontario?
Your employer cannot just take money off your paycheque. Ontario limits deductions to three situations, and cash shortages or broken items are usually not among them.
Key takeaways
- Deductions are allowed only in three situations under the ESA.
- Statutory: income tax, CPP, and EI must come off.
- Court order: for example, a wage garnishment.
- Written authorization: you agreed in writing to a specific amount or formula.
- Even with your signature, deductions for shortages or breakage are usually barred.
In this article
You open your pay stub and money is missing, for a till that came up short, a broken glass, a customer who walked out without paying, or a uniform. Can your employer do that? In Ontario, the rules on deductions are strict, and most of these charges are not allowed. Here is what your employer can and cannot take off your pay.
✅Quick answer. Under the Employment Standards Act, your employer can only make a deduction from your wages in three situations: when a statute requires it (income tax, CPP, EI), when a court order requires it (such as a garnishment), or when you have given written authorization for a specific amount or a way to calculate it. Critically, even a signed authorization generally cannot be used to deduct for cash shortages, lost or stolen property, or faulty work if anyone other than you had access to the money or property. Vague blanket authorizations do not count.
The only three lawful reasons to deduct
- Statutory deductions: income tax, Canada Pension Plan, and Employment Insurance. These are required by law and always come off.
- Court orders: a court can order a deduction, most commonly a wage garnishment to pay a debt.
- Written authorization: you signed something that authorizes the deduction and states a specific amount or a formula to calculate it. A general we can deduct whatever we decide clause is not enough.
Cash shortages, breakage, and dine-and-dash
This is where most employees are wronged. Even if you signed a written authorization, your employer generally cannot deduct for a cash shortage, a loss, or damaged property if a person other than you had access to the cash or property. In a busy shop, restaurant, or bar, other staff almost always had access to the till or the stock, so charging you for a shortage or a walkout is usually not permitted. The same logic applies to faulty or defective work.
Deductions cannot push you below the minimum
A deduction also cannot be used to drop your effective pay below the minimum wage, and it cannot eat into your statutory entitlements. If uniforms, tools, or other costs are being charged back to you in a way that leaves you below the floor, that is a problem regardless of what you signed.
What should you do about an improper deduction?
- 1.Check your pay stub and identify exactly what was deducted and why.
- 2.Ask whether you ever signed a specific written authorization for it.
- 3.For a shortage or breakage, note whether anyone else had access to the money or item.
- 4.If it is improper, it is an ESA matter you can raise with your employer and, if needed, the Ministry of Labour.
Improper deductions often sit alongside other wage problems, like an employer withholding your final pay or unpaid tips. If money is being taken off your cheque and you are unsure it is allowed, it is worth a review. See also severance pay in Ontario.
Frequently asked questions
Can my employer deduct from my pay in Ontario?
Only in three situations: a statute requires it (tax, CPP, EI), a court orders it (like a garnishment), or you gave written authorization for a specific amount or formula. Anything else is generally not allowed.
Can my employer make me pay for a till shortage?
Usually not. Even with a signed authorization, an employer generally cannot deduct for a cash shortage, loss, or damage if anyone other than you had access to the money or property, which is almost always the case in a shared workplace.
Can they deduct for a broken item or a customer who did not pay?
Generally no, for the same reason. Deductions for faulty work, breakage, or a dine-and-dash are barred where others had access, and a vague blanket authorization does not make them lawful.
Can a deduction take me below minimum wage?
No. A deduction cannot reduce your effective pay below the Ontario minimum wage or cut into your statutory entitlements, regardless of what you may have signed.
Daniel Carter
Legal Writer, Mirza Law
Daniel Carter is a legal writer at Mirza Law in Toronto. He writes about layoffs, employment contracts, and the steps to take before you sign anything from your employer.
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