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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:
namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 17:57

@ChrisjenAvasarala a portion of it was spent at Christmas, and even still if they'd have been in touch in the New Year, I'd have had the money to repay it as it hadn't been spent! The rest was then used for days out/meals out and to clear my gas bill.

OP posts:
Shallishanti123 · 17/01/2019 18:00

Sorry name, I was one who said I worried you would be sacked. I didn’t think about how that would make you feel. Generally (because of my line of work) I think the worst in situations like this and I thought you’d spent it so quick so as to get rid of it. I shouldn’t think that way and I am seeking help not to think the worst of people (MH issues due to my work). I hope you can get it sorted. Try to come up with a reasonable repayment plan to offer to them before they take it all back next wage.

Sugarhunnyicedtea · 17/01/2019 18:02

Have you offered a payment plan to HR/payroll yet?

namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 18:03

@Sugarhunnyicedtea I'm completely lost because when I questioned payroll about instalments they said that's nothing to do with them and that'd have to be requested to my manager? I asked my manager this afternoon before she left work about paying in instalments and she said she had no idea.

OP posts:
Sugarhunnyicedtea · 17/01/2019 18:04

You need to speak to HR or your manager's manager then. You really can't just leave it because they can take the whole amount from your next salary

namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 18:06

@Sugarhunnyicedtea I know, not much I can do until tomorrow. I've never even met my managers manager and wouldn't know how to contact her. I know no contact details for HR, only the number I spoke to payroll on today which was on the email with my payslip. I'm going to seek citizens advice tomorrow to see where I stand on them taking a whole months wage this month and what my options are if they refuse a payment plan.

OP posts:
Sugarhunnyicedtea · 17/01/2019 18:12

They are within their rights to refuse an instalment plan, most employers wouldn't, but they can. As you've only worked there a month I imagine they'll want to recover the overpayment quickly.

Can you Google some numbers? Most companies have details on websites for senior people, even if it's not the right person they can point you in the right direction.

ChrisjenAvasarala · 17/01/2019 18:14

I don't think you really have any options. The mistake was yours, and they have no obligation to allow instalments. They'd never expect anyone to actually spend the money. Payroll companies can deal with hundreds and hundreds of people and, like any other company, emails get put into queues or passed up the line etc. It's your job to chase it. You've been in work quite a few times since payday, but never once asked? It just doesn't make any sense to anyone here, so it won't make any sense to them when you say the money is gone. Be prepared for that.

SEsofty · 17/01/2019 18:28

Just to add that lots of companies have a fixed date frequently middle of the month after which no payroll changes can be made.

Therefore even if eventually they agree to instalment the system may automatically be clawing it back this month.

Therefore you need to prepare yourself for not getting any pay in January.

I actually do feel sorry for you as you made a mistake and clearly just got overexcited about having the money in the bank that you didn’t really think.

Is there anyone you could borrow money off to cover the next month

namechanged707 · 17/01/2019 19:44

@SEsofty thank you. I'm not sure who I'd be able to borrow off but I'd have to find someone. Just a horrible situation and a horrible day! My manager has since replied and has told me she's requested a repayment plan for me and will let me know if they accept, but no guarantees.

OP posts:
SEsofty · 17/01/2019 19:46

Would it be possible to get a zero percent credit card just to handle the overpayment issue

CurlyMango · 17/01/2019 19:47

This is stupid, Of course you’ve been overpaid, now yow have spent it you will have to pay it back. Live within your actual means. A £600 bonus after two weeks, wishful thinking..

yorkshirepud44 · 17/01/2019 21:33

I'm hr. I'd want to be sympathetic but think you were pretty daft for spending it all before you'd had an answer. The fact that you had queried it at all would be a point in your favour though.

The issue for them at this stage is that presumably you're on a short notice period at the moment and could therefore disappear into the sunset still owing money you haven't yet earned. For the reason that you haven't yet built any real credibility (and this won't have helped) they could feel safest reclaiming it all ASAP.

I'd be pushing for a payments plan for you if all else was ok.

BetsyBigNose · 17/01/2019 23:26

@namechanged707 - I feel really bad for you; I probably would have landed myself in the same situation - I would have known it was a payroll error, but I'm on a really tight budget and usually once the money is gone, it's gone. I don't have a credit card and have no one we could borrow money from, I'm just used to knowing that I have got (for example) £80 left and 2 weeks till payday, so I eke it out, and we manage. But even though I would have known that the money would have to be paid back, I simply don't have the willpower to not spend it, when it's just sitting there. The payroll office would have been closed cos it was Christmas and if this had happened at any other time of year, I know if it was me I would have had to have been straight on the phone, paying it back that same day, or the temptation to bury my head in the sand and ‘fritter’ it away (just on ‘normal day to day stuff’) and worry about the consequences later would have been too great. So, like I say, I really feel for you; I didn't want you to feel like you're the only person in the whole of MN world who is distinctly lacking in common sense/is perhaps 'morally questionable' in this instance/missing any trace of willpower/could do with a grown up to look after the finances!

Anyway, I work in HR and I used to oversee recovery of overpayments for the Payroll Department of the (very large) organisation. The amounts owed ranged from £50 to (in one very strange case, where we had managed to continue to pay the employee for nearly two years after she had left) £75,000 (which makes your overpayment seem much easier to deal with)! On the odd occasion, an employee would spot the error before us, or we would notice within a few days of payday and they'd be in a financial position to repay the full amount immediately. However, in the vast majority of cases, we agreed a repayment plan with the employee and deductions were made from their wages over a set period, or if they had left the organisation, they would often send us a series of post-dated cheques, which we would bank as the months rolled by (this was about 10 years ago, you’d probably set up a standing order these days!).

Most organisations will be happy to agree a repayment plan with you (in my experience, only very small employers won't - often because they can't afford to, or at least can't afford to set the precedent), particularly as overpaying you was their error and it was you who brought it to their attention.

I have my fingers crossed for you OP, I really hope that they're understanding and help you to rectify it with the minimum of worry for you. Good luck!

ChrisjenAvasarala · 18/01/2019 08:34

Betsy, what happened with the ex-employee who owed £75,000?!? They obviously knew they weren’t working for you anymore, but they just kept taking the money without saying anything?

Ucangourownwoo · 18/01/2019 11:11

It’s more common than you think Chris - councils have people whose job it is to pursue for the money. They tend to try to keep people on for as long as possible to recoup the cash.

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