Q: I was reading this response to a query – and it references week 3 as being covered by the Wages Protection Act. Does this mean in the final pay we can offset the first 2 weeks because they have accrued the 2 weeks and because the 3rd week is truly an overpayment, that we then need to revert to asking the employee how they wish to pay this back to the complaint?

A: If the employee had accrued two weeks but asked to take three and then resigned under the act, you can recover the 2 weeks and deduct it from the 8% on termination (Section 23).

The 3rd week would have to follow the Wages Protection Act so you cannot just act on a deduction clause in the employment agreement (if included) you also need to contact the employee to inform them of the deduction (amount and date being deducted) and the employee could still redraw their consent under Section 5 of the act.