Can my employer deduct a cash shortage from my salary in Nigeria?

It is 21:50 and the shift is over. You count the drawer twice. It is ₦4,500 short. Your manager says it will come out of your pay, and you have no idea whether that is allowed.

This question comes up in every shop, bar and pharmacy that has a till. The short answer is that the law is on your side more than most employers admit. It is not a blank cheque for anyone, either.

The answer, plainly

Section 5(1) of the Labour Act says an employer may not deduct from wages unless the Act or another law expressly permits it. Commentary on the section describes one route for a loss: a reasonable deduction for injury or loss caused to the employer by your wilful misconduct or neglect, and only with the prior written consent of an authorised labour officer. Lawyers writing on the section add that all deductions together cannot pass one-third of a month's pay.

That is three tests, and a manager's decision at closing time passes none of them:

1. Cause. The loss must come from wilful misconduct or neglect. A drawer that is short is not proof of either.
2. Permission. A labour officer must agree in writing before the deduction is made, not after.
3. Size. The deduction must be reasonable, and capped at one-third of the month's pay.

A written policy or a line in your contract does not change this. One of the articles below reports a National Industrial Court view that salaries are treated with "such sacredness", and says a worker cannot agree to a deduction the Act forbids. This is general information, not legal advice. For your own case, speak to a lawyer or your nearest labour office.

Fines are a separate rule

Employers often mix up two things. A fine, such as a lateness levy or a "shortage fee" charged whatever the cause, is treated differently from a loss. The law bars deducting wages for fines. A lawyer quoted by Legit.ng in 2025 made the same point about lateness money. Welfare dues and similar charges taken without a legal basis fall in the same group.

So "everyone pays a share of the shortage" is not a lawful rule, even when it sounds fair.

What to do today if it is happening to you

1. Write down the facts. Date, shift, amount, who else used the till, and what was said.
2. Ask for the basis in writing. Which law, and which labour officer approved it.
3. Do not sign a note that accepts the deduction if you are not sure. Signing is how many cases are lost.
4. Keep your own count. A photo of the drawer at handover, with the time, is worth more than an argument.
5. Go to the labour office or a lawyer if the deduction goes ahead anyway.

The hidden cost for owners

Owners lose too when a shortage turns into a quarrel. A deduction made without a lawful basis can be challenged, the cashier may leave, and the next one learns the lesson: cover yourself.

A shortage also tells you nothing by itself. It may be a wrong change, an unrecorded refund, a transfer that never landed, or a cashier who took cash. Without a record of who sold what and when, you are guessing, and guessing is where unfair accusations start. The fix is a record that settles the question before anyone raises their voice.

How Jollozi settles a shortage with a record, not an argument

Jollozi POS opens each shift against a named cashier and closes it with a count.

• Each cashier counts alone. At close, the cashier counts the drawer without seeing the expected figure first, so the count is honest and nobody can say it was adjusted.
• Every sale carries a name and a time. A line reads like "Cash · Ada · 14:05", so a difference can be traced to a sale instead of to a person.
• Staff PINs and roles. Each person logs in with their own PIN. Sensitive actions such as refunds and discounts can need a manager's approval, so the approval is on the record too.
• Transfers are no longer a guess. With FlashPay, a transfer confirms itself on the till, so a shortage can be ruled out as "the customer said they paid".
• A day close that lists cash, transfers and card separately. If the cash is short, you see exactly which part is short.

Jollozi does not decide who is at fault, and it does not replace the law. It gives the owner and the cashier the same facts on the same screen.

Close the shift on facts

See how a shift, a blind count and a day close work on a practice till at till.jollozi.com/demo. Related: how to know a fake transfer alert and the customer says I've paid but there's no alert.