Overpaid by work - what now? Advise please

[Smarshian]

I started a new job in November and was overpaid from the start. I told my manager and nothing was sorted. I then started getting paid even more - I told them again and they eventually sorted it, by which point I owed them £1800. They said they would take it from my salary over 10 months. Fine.
We are 3 months down the line and I’m applying for new jobs and hopefully will be leaving in the next 4-5 weeks if the interviews go well.
What happens then?
I will still owe about £1000. Can they still claim it? Can anyone help? I can’t afford to lose it all out of one pay packet.

Yeah they can take it all back out of the last payslip.
If that would cause you a problem I’d contact HR in advance and see if you could pay it back over a period of time.

Lol they will definitely take it from your pay. I left a charity in 2019 and they tried to take my full season ticket loan cost from my final pay (which wouldn't have even covered it) despite the season ticket company confirming the refund they'd receive. They wanted to take the money then 'promise' to pay it back when the refund came through. Just saying... companies will not let that money go.

Really, you should have been putting that money aside. We all make mistakes but I think you do know that's what you should have done.

Shouldn't have told them in the first place

You should always tell your employer if you have been overpaid.

When I was overpaid my union advised that I wrote to my employer twice (and kept copies) to inform them about it and then stashed the money.

When my employer attempted to get the money back 3+ years down the line the union defended me saying they hadn’t acted in a reasonable timescale as I had informed them promptly and I got to keep the money.

Do you have owes holidays that they will pay you when you leave? Could that balance it out?

OP, the only suggestion I can make is that when you negotiate, you could say you relied on your line manager's promise that in no circumstances would this money would be taken in one pay packet then offer an affordable monthly payment. It probably won't wash but it might short circuit their default policy.

Good luck.

Your N I deductions may have been also affected.
If you create a repayment plan may sure thus is reflected in the tax you may have overpaid as you may get a tax refund.
I think you should get a written statement on how the company plan to deal with it. If you manager had said don't worry about the overpayment I would highlight that to the Company too. They may decide to write it off but an auditor might think that a bit suspicious.

You need to pay it back. They will probably try to take it all from your final wage. You could argue the toss with them , but you should have kept the overpayment aside and separate. You knew they would come looking for it.

Unless you have it in writing that they will not take it back, you won’t have a leg to stand on.

One thing to bear in mind, OP, is that you may want to check if you have paid too much income tax and at year end be due a refund, depending on how your payroll handled your allowances and your salary and tax rates.

I had this as a student in the 90s - my year out job payed me two months extra after I started uni which I told them about and out in a separate account but as I was skint I kept dipping into the money - it's easier said than done to not spend money when it's there and you're struggling financially. I went back to the job during my summer holiday and stupidly told my boss about the over payment - I had told payroll at the time of the overpayment- my boss then had to remind payroll (he did say he wished I hadn't told him). Payroll were then vile to me - ringing me and demanding I sacrifice my summer salary to pay the overpayment back - I went to citizens advice who put a payment plan together and I payed a minimal amount back per month - think it was £20 or something I didn't have to give all my summer pay up think I possibly gave £200 while I was earning . It was very stressful. Annoyingly I think had I not told them they never would have noticed

I see whowouldhavethought said the same. If some of the overpayment happened in 2019-20 then it could be you could claim after the repayment to your employer.

Good that you've kept the money aside OP. Going somewhat against the grain here but I think seeing as they stuffed up, they should sort it out. It may have shifted you up into the next tax bracket which means an added headache as well. You would hope companies could get the basics right, and paying the correct salary seems basic to me.

I would just resign as and when, giving them the correct amount of notice and playing it by the book, with a paper trail of what has happened. Then I'd leave it to them to sort out as it is their mess. But yes, you may find they just take what is owed out of the remaining wage packet. Also agree with PP - make sure you check whether you owe them annual leave, or they owe you.

Does your manager handle payroll? You should have gone to HR. Do you have your manager saying not to worry about the overpayment in writing?

I was paid twice in error. I let my manager know immediately and she told me not to spend the Money (I had moved it to another account as I wasn’t intending to touch it).

It took 3 weeks for HR to call and discuss it. They gave me two options, I was paid twice in April and could either return the funds and my May wage would go in as normal or have a zero wage in May and the extra money would be payment for May. I took the option to use it as my May wage. Returning it via my bank is a pain in the arse needing a seance, a card reader, a blessing from a priest....also wanted a trail to show that I had be paid x this year instead of y. I

I just got a letter saying I underpaid last tax year (until April) by £89 so they’ll adjust my tax from next April to recover it. As my wage in May was zero (with accompanying payslip) I bet that £89 is incorrect.

Never ever spend a wage overpayment, you are not entitled to it and your contract will always say they will recover it.

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