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AIBU?

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Original poster

What do I do??? Am I going to have no money?

166 replies

namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 12:01

Okay...
I work part time and would expect between £500-£600 on a normal month for my job (that was the expectation).
I claim childcare for my baby in a baby wing and get help with housing costs as my DP is in education full time until summer.
December was my first month working there and I was paid close to £1,200! I assumed Christmas bonus - I did email the manager to enquire and double check but heard nothing.
I have to give my payslip in on Monday to be able to reclaim for temporary help with childcare and rent. The payslip says nothing about a Christmas bonus, just a basic wage of £1,280 and then tax/NI deductions.
Are they going to think I'm lying and tell them that that shouldn't be my normal wage? If I don't get my temporary help from them then I wouldn't be able to pay rent or nursery fees.
If it was a mistake on works part, are they going to make me pay it back after a month???

I'm so stressed that I won't be able to pay rent or childcare!

OP posts:
costacoffeecup · 17/01/2019 12:56

Or what needanapp said!

Original poster
namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 12:57

@Disfordarkchocolate yes that's exactly what I'm going to have to do. Literally been crying for 10 minutes - feel like such a prize idiot!

OP posts:
SEsofty · 17/01/2019 13:03

I can not believe that you actually spent it. Did you really think that you would have an over 100% Christmas bonus as a new member of staff.

It’s clearly a payroll error and seems most likely that you have been paid ft rather than pt salary. For pt work the payslip must include the ft salary for reference so you should be able to compare.

If you only earn 500 a month then you won’t pay tax or NI as you earn below the threshold.

You will need to pay back any overpay. How quickly will depend on your company but in this circumstance most would just not pay the next wage as you have been paid double.

No employer on earth would expect you to spend money that is not yours. They may even ask you to pay it back immediately ahead of payroll.

As to childcare you will need to write a covering letter when you submit the payslip explaining that you have been paid in error and that your normal wage is 500.

IwantedtobeEmmaPeel · 17/01/2019 13:03

I'm sorry Op, but it is highly unlikely that you would have been paid any bonus after working for a company for only 12 days, let alone a bonus of £600. You really should have chased this up sooner.

Get your company to put in writing exactly how your pay was made up and if it is a mistake, get them to detail the mistake in writing so you can show that to whoever it is you claim your benefits from. If the company have cocked up and overpaid you (which it sounds like they have) then you might be able to repay them in instalments, but you would need to discuss & agree this with them. It is a shame you spent the excess before getting confirmation from your manager or payroll dept.

Ucangourownwoo · 17/01/2019 13:05

Oh dear

ChrisjenAvasarala · 17/01/2019 13:08

What did your payroll department say in regards to paying it back? Have you worked out a timeframe, and have you confirmed that you will still get a wage this month?

WhentheDealGoesDown · 17/01/2019 13:09

It is unfortunate that it happened over Christmas when there is a break from work and obviously the temptation to spend any extra money or else it could have been sorted out quickly. As it was their error speak to them about paying back in instalments.

SEsofty · 17/01/2019 13:10

What did you spend 600 on? You need to sell/ return stuff ASAP and try and get the money back

IwantedtobeEmmaPeel · 17/01/2019 13:13

Sorry, cross post, just seen your update. Your company must issue a letter confirming their mistake and need to issue a new payslip that you can show when claiming your benefits. They made the error and they did not respond to your first email, so use that as a bargaining tool to agree a repayment plan that you can afford. They are prize plonkers. You also need to see about reclaiming the income tax and NI as it sounds as though your correct monthly salary would be below the threshold, so you employers should be sorting that out as well. They have really fucked this up for you.

londonrach · 17/01/2019 13:17

Happened to me once but it was about a year being over paid so much a month that kinda was buried in the payslip without me knowing. Came at a time when i was moving and not organised re payslips. Anyway they admitted it, lots of complicated mistakes but every penny had to repaid but it was done over two years. Talk to finance op and dont worry it happens xxxx

londonrach · 17/01/2019 13:19

@sosofty. If op is anything like me with limited budget she could have spent it on food which cant be returned. Yes op shouldnt have spent the extra money but she has.

AdoraBell · 17/01/2019 13:20

As suggested get them to write a letter detailing the mistake and a correct payslip.

SEsofty · 17/01/2019 13:23

Spent 600 on food. Really?? When she knows it’s not in her budget.

I know all about budgeting and having to make sure every penny is accounted for and therefore have a really strict food budget

UKSky · 17/01/2019 13:24

Could it have been a tax refund? In the column for tax does it state a plus or minus figure?

Esspee · 17/01/2019 13:24

I'm finding it hard to be sympathetic. You don't spend money you know you are not entitled to. You should have investigated at the time.

LagunaBubbles · 17/01/2019 13:25

I realise you are panicking but you need to stop crying and start to sort this out.

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 17/01/2019 13:25

People suggesting a correct payslip are wrong. The payslip was correct as it shows the amount paid. They need to issue a letter confirming the error and that it needs to be repaid.
I'm not clear why your didn't call payroll originally. Realistically you're not going to get a large Xmas bonus 2 weeks after starting work and you knew deep down it was wrong. However, it's done now so you need to work out what you can afford to repay monthly and offer that. Your rent etc is different, even if that amount had Ben a bonus you would presumably have been over the limit to claim so what was your plan?

Shallishanti123 · 17/01/2019 13:25

She’s spent the money on her DS and days out. Very irresponsible and I hope that doesn’t have an impact on her future prospects with the company. I don’t know employment ins and outs but they won’t be happy!

ChrisjenAvasarala · 17/01/2019 13:26

London, she said she spent it on days out with her son, so on frivolities. If you’re in a tight budget and you get a large bonus, then wouldn’t you save it so you’ve got a little padding in your bank account for emergencies or treats throughout the year? Instead of spending in a couple of weeks?

Unfortunately, it’s not a bonus or tax refund or anything extra, it was a mistake and OP will suffer reduced income for serveral months whilst paying it back. That’s enough of a punishment for her mistake so everyone could stop going on about it.

SEsofty · 17/01/2019 13:35

Just one further thought. Are you still in a probation period at work. If so might be worth treading very carefully in terms of saying that you have spent it and instead just ask if you can pay in installments.

The error of judgment might be held against you in terms of assessing your ability to do a job and make sound logical decisions

SEsofty · 17/01/2019 13:37

It’s just that 600-700 is a staggering amount of money to spend so quickly, a fortnight

PattiStanger · 17/01/2019 13:39

They can't give you another payslip, it doesn't work like that, something in writing is probably the best way try and sort it out. I don't know what a baby wing is but presumably there's someone there that you can explain this to, ask them for their advice

It does show financial immaturity to have spent it so quickly even if it had turned out to have been money you were entitled to, would I be right to think you are very young? You need to have a good look at how you manage your money in the future.

WhentheDealGoesDown · 17/01/2019 13:40

Some very nasty people on this thread - as usual. It was the OP’s workplace that made the error in the first place and she emailed about it but was ignored. Her employer should ensure she is not out of pocket for their error and work out a repayment plan

solongthen · 17/01/2019 13:40

If you were expecting £5/600 per month and you only did 12 days in December surely the amount you were expecting to be paid was nearer to £250/300. What you got was £1,000 more.

As it’s your employers fault they will have to let you pay it back in manageable installments.

TulipsInbloom1 · 17/01/2019 13:46

When the employer didn't actively spend the money on extras without waiting for confirmation that they were actually supposed to have that money.

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