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How Deductions Are Taken From Pay

When each instalment is taken, and what happens if there isn't enough pay

Each week, a deduction plan adds that week's installment to the operative's timesheet. Chime checks there's enough pay to cover it. If there is, the instalment is taken and the balance goes down. If there isn't, that week is skipped and the plan runs for an extra week instead, so the operative's pay never drops below £0.

Each Week's Deduction

  1. When the operative has hours for the week, the instalment is added to their timesheet.

    • This happens whether they clock in or someone adds hours for them manually.

    • It appears as a payment request - will include the deduction plan name

  2. The deduction is approved automatically.

  3. Chime checks that taking the deduction won't leave the operative's pay for the week below £0.

    • This check runs when the operative clocks in the following week, when the timesheet is locked, or when payroll is exported for that week.

  4. If there's enough pay, the instalment is marked Applied and the outstanding balance goes down.

  5. If there isn't enough pay, the instalment is marked Skipped and one extra week is added to the end of the plan.

When an Operative Has More Than One Plan

  1. Chime takes the smallest deduction first, then the next smallest, and so on.

  2. If the next deduction would leave pay below £0, that plan is skipped for the week. Smaller deductions already taken stay in place.

  3. Each remaining plan is checked the same way.

Example: three deductions of £15, £30 and £50 are due in the same week, and the operative has £40 of pay. The £15 is taken, leaving £25. The £30 and £50 are both skipped, and each of those plans gets an extra week at the end.

Flow to show how weekly deductions work

Use Case

Payroll teams checking why a deduction was or wasn't taken, and managers answering operatives' questions about their pay.

💡 Tips

  • No deduction is added for a week when the timesheet is created automatically with no hours worked, for example a week of annual leave.

  • If a timesheet is locked, the deduction moves forward to the next unlocked timesheet.

  • There's no limit on skipped weeks. A plan keeps running until the balance is cleared, paused or cancelled.

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