According to Article 169 of Law 53/2003, republished – Labour Code, no deductions may be made from salary, except in the cases and under the conditions provided for by law. Deductions by way of damages caused to the employer may not be made unless the employee’s debt is due, liquid and payable and has been established as such by a final and irrevocable court judgment.
For situations in which the employee has caused damage to the employer, there is the patrimonial liability procedure provided for in Articles 254-255 of the same law.
Art. 254.
(1) Employees shall be liable for material damage caused to the employer through their fault and in connection with their work, in accordance with the rules and principles of contractual civil liability.
(2) Employees shall not be liable for damage caused by force majeure or other unforeseeable causes which could not be avoided, nor for damage falling within the normal risk of the service.
(3) If the employer finds that the employee has caused damage through his own fault and in connection with his work, he may, by means of a notice of ascertainment and assessment of the damage, request the employee to recover the amount of the damage by agreement between the parties within a period of not less than 30 days from the date of the notice.
(4) The value of the damage recovered by agreement of the parties in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be (3) may not exceed the equivalent of 5 gross minimum wages.
Art. 255 .
(1) Where the loss or damage has been caused by more than one employee, the amount of the liability of each employee shall be determined in proportion to the extent to which he has contributed to its occurrence.
(2) If the extent to which each has contributed to the damage cannot be determined, the liability of each shall be determined in proportion to his net salary as at the date of the damage and, where appropriate, to the time actually worked since his last inventory.
If the damage caused by the employee exceeds the equivalent of 5 gross minimum wages, the employer must apply to the court for the difference.