Joyce shop docks $1,000 from each worker for missing dresses
Staff at a Joyce clothes shop will have $1,000 illegally docked from their pay after dresses worth $80,000 went missing.
The items are thought to have been stolen by shoplifters this month, and the wages of all staff in the upmarket chain's Central store are due to be docked when this month's salaries are paid on Monday.
A Joyce spokeswoman yesterday confirmed that all 20 or so branch staff - from managers to sales assistants - would be charged for their 'negligence'.
Two dresses, together worth about $80,000, were unaccounted for.
The Labour Department said yesterday it was illegal to deduct more than $300 from a worker's wages to cover the cost of lost or damaged goods or equipment. Joyce would not comment on this.
Workers in the Queen's Road branch are understood to have signed documents admitting responsibility for the clothes going missing.
The Joyce spokeswoman said she was not aware of objections from any of the staff to the demand that they accept blame and have their pay docked.
A Labour Department spokesman said: 'We have not received requests for assistance from Joyce staff. But we are approaching the management for more details.'
