Costa Coffee employees at multiple stores claim they have had costs of £200 deducted from their final payslip for training, according to the BBC.

The BBC spoke to 13 current and former Costa employees at stores in Essex who say they have also been subjected to other deductions for till discrepancies and running costs.

Costa said partners manage contracts for franchise stores. It added some staff contracts did have "clauses relating to deductions".

Other complaints about the Costa Coffee stores - run by Goldex Investments Essex Ltd - include allegations over contracts. Six people claim they were never given their written contracts, despite asking for them.

Costa Coffee said: "We take complaints such as these very seriously and have shared those we've been made aware of with our partner who operates the franchise business to investigate as a matter of urgency."

Goldex Investments Essex Ltd said it took all the allegations "extremely seriously" and urged employees to outline the issues with their line manager.

“Deductions from wages are generally unlawful unless they are required by law, such as deductions for tax and NI; authorised in the contract of employment; or consented to in writing by the employee” said Fiona Coombe, SIA’s Director of Legal and Regulatory Research.