Is an employer legally entitled to reduce an employee's salary retrospectively without consultation and consent?

There is no legal entitlement to reduce an employee’s salary retrospectively. If such a measure were to be taken, an employee would have a number of potential avenues of recourse open to him or her. Firstly, an employee could bring a claim under the Payment of Wages Act, 1991 (the “1991 Act”) on the basis that there has been an unlawful deduction from his or her wages. The 1991 Act requires an employee to give his or her prior written consent to a deduction and, in circumstances where an employer attempts to unilaterally decrease an employee’s salary retrospectively, then there would be a breach of the 1991 Act.

Secondly, an employee could potentially resign his or her position and claim