Is it legal for an employer to demand that if your till is down, that you replace the money yourself?

I was aware when staring the job that till descrepencies over a £1 would be questioned and logged but our manager has recently told us that we must start to make the money up ourselves if our tills are down at the end of shift. Someone else has told me that this is illegal and I should refuse to pay it, can anyone settle this for me please?
Additional Details
I would never steal the money out of my till, that would just be stupid seeing as i had already been told that i would have to put it back. Everybody makes mistakes especially when there is a huge que of exasperated customers waiting to be served. More often than not we do not even get a chance to count or float ourselves as there is already a que of people waiting at the till. The only reason I object to paying it myself is because I can not be sure that it was my own mistake as it was the manager that told me about the till descrepency that counted the float and the safe at end of day. If i was certain that it was me giving a customer too much change than i would accept the responsibility and be more vigilent in future. So no more accusing replies please "i am not a thief"

Wendy H

As you asked this in the UK section refers to UK employment law.

What can be deducted from your pay?
Your employer is not allowed to make a deduction from your pay unless:

your contract says they can - and your employer has given you a written copy of the part of the contract which says so, or a written explanation of it, before making the deduction
it is required or authorised by law, such as income tax, national insurance or student loan repayments
you have agreed in writing to a deduction before the conduct takes place for which your employer proposes to make a deduction

Retail work
If you do retail work (for example, if you work in a shop) you have extra protection. Your employer is not allowed to take more than 10 per cent of your gross wages from your take-home pay on any individual payday to make up the shortfall from a cash or stock shortage. If this isn't enough your employer can continue to take money from your wages on subsequent paydays, but not more than 10 per cent on a single payday. If you leave the job, your employer can take the full amount owed.

You can complain to an Employment Tribunal if your employer does not follow these rules.

Where to get help
The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1461

Megan O

where i work it is necessary to pay back the money otherwise it has to be made up from somewhere. if you are responsible for your own till, which it sounds like you are, then you have obviously lost the money somewhere. You also need to remember that the lost money adds up and that at the end of the working day, if everyone lost money then the managers could have a large sum of money to pay back. Money is only insured if it has been stolen from you or lost in transit when the securitas guys collect it from your store. not a few pounds here and there.

wwpetcemetery

Thats the part of business....now the manager could use it as an excuse to fire you.

nosdda

Your employer is within his rights. You have the resposibility of the till and you are responsible for any shortfalls. I cannot see how this can happen with a modern day till which tells you how much change to give.

bud

It is legal, but it has to be proved to you that the till is down or they can be doing it every day

surojabu

Since you are responsible for the money while it is in your possession, I believe they are well within their legal rights to have you repay the till. If you refuse to repay it, I imagine they'll be within their rights to fire you. And depending on the amount of money missing, they could file charges for theft as well. You should contact the Labor Board or Department of Labor for your area to get a conclusive answer though, because it all depends on the laws and regulations in your specific area.

thethingzuneed

not legal.

ann123

Absolutely not.They cannot insist you pay anything back,and it is illegal for them to try if you didnt take it.

Sounds like they are trying to keep there insurance premiums down by making you pay up.

when i was a bus driver i was beaten up and robbed of bout Â£100 takings.

The firm said i had to pay it back,but as a union rep i knew that every company has to be insured for losses and the employee is only liable if it can be proved they took it.

Call the citizens advice bureau they may help,or call a union if your in one,and even if your not the shop workers union asdaw can help you.just google them and contact them.good luck.

poppy vox

Put it back.

Mely

your employer cant force you to pay the money back for the till , but try to cover your own back and be really carefull when your getting change for a customer out of the till , check all the money which goes in and out of the till twice before you put it in and before you give the change out. plus try to make sure your float in your till is correct to the penny .but it just sounds like your employer is trying to be a bit strict at the moment.

Amy.

that is like saying if your till is up you should take the extra money, when my till has been down you are not allowed to pay the extra money, it would be just as if you stole it and you'd get in trouble

Jimi

Not really sure,but ask your manager-if the till is up,can you keep the money? if he says no ,then don`t pay if the till is down!.

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