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AIBU?

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Original poster

Does she have to pay this?

67 replies

cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 20:33

DD is 17, in September she started work for a well known clothes shop. She took time off due to MH and they effectively didn't keep her on as she'd only been there a few weeks.
She received her final wage in October which was a normal wage and stated she had sick pay on there.
Fast forward to this weekend they've sent her a letter saying she was paid in error and she owes them £600 which they want back in 2 weeks!
DD is currently waiting for her DBS to come back and awaiting a start date for a new job so has absolutely no means of paying it, neither do I.
OH says to ignore it, it's their mistake and it's been months but I don't want them to take her to court.
Does she have to pay it?

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/03/2022 20:34

Has she calculated how much she was paid vs how much she should have been paid?

AlisonDonut · 20/03/2022 20:35

How are we to know?

Get her payslips and contract out and work it out.

HaveANiceFuckingDay · 20/03/2022 20:37

Yes unfortunately they can ask for it back as it was made in error however they cant stipulate 2 weeks

dun1urkin · 20/03/2022 20:37

If she’s been overpaid, yes she has to pay it back.

If she hasn’t been overpaid, no she doesn’t have to pay it back.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/03/2022 20:37

OH says to ignore it, it's their mistake

This reads as if she was overpaid and she knows she was. Therefore she has to pay it back.

If she was underpaid by 600 I'm sure she would be letting them know. As such, she should have done the same if she knew she was overpaid.

twominutesmore · 20/03/2022 20:37

If she was overpaid, they could take her to court to recover it. I suppose it depends whether they would bother. I think I would ignore and wait to see whether I received a second communication, and then contact them to agree a repayment plan. Obviously only if she agrees that she was overpaid after checking payslips.

BeHappy91818 · 20/03/2022 20:38

Yes if she’s been overpaid she has to pay it back.

She would of known she was overpaid too so should never if spent it.

Danikm151 · 20/03/2022 20:39

She will have to pay it back as they made an error but she can do a payment plan with them. If they took it to court that would be the result anyway so saves them court costs if she offers a reasonable amount each month. £50 per month would take 1 year.

( i do these sorts of collections at my job and always accept reasonable offers)

Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 20:49

The wage was the same wage she usually got and as it stated sick pay on there she assumed it was right

OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 20:50

Just to add, if she owes it we will obviously pay it back I was just checking if she had to

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/03/2022 20:52

@cantthinkofabetterusername

Just to add, if she owes it we will obviously pay it back I was just checking if she had to
Haha right you are.

You said you couldn't and she couldn't and now a bunch of us says of course she has to if she was overpaid you've changed your tune.

Assuming is not the right way to go about these things.

Cbes · 20/03/2022 20:54

What does it say in her contract about sick pay?

I assume, since she was only there a few weeks, and they are now saying it was an overpayment, that she had to be there for a certain period of time to qualify for sick pay. Worth checking though.

MichelleScarn · 20/03/2022 20:57

How long did she actually work for them? Started Sep so wage for that, then off sick for few weeks and final wage in October? So poss only 4 -5 weeks in total?

Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 20:58

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz
I said I couldn't pay it in 2 weeks, I'm more than capable of setting up a payment plan if needed

OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 20:59

@MichelleScarn

How long did she actually work for them? Started Sep so wage for that, then off sick for few weeks and final wage in October? So poss only 4 -5 weeks in total?
Yes, started September went off beginning of oct with a sick note and paid at the end of oct
OP posts:
Wannakisstheteacher · 20/03/2022 21:02

So you thought she’d be paid, in full, for a whole month when she was off sick, after being there for 4 weeks?

Orchidsonthetable · 20/03/2022 21:04

She can’t have thought she’d get full pay when she’d been only there a month? Surely not, do none of you work?

SolasAnla · 20/03/2022 21:05

If she was paid money outside her contract in error then yes she has an obligation to repay the money she received.

NB she is only obliged to repay the nett cash amount

If the £600 was the amount before deductions (tax NI etc.) then only the cash transferred must be repaid.
She should agree a repayment schedule based on what she can afford to pay out of the wage from her new job.

Also if she ceased employment she should check what payroll data has been filed with HMRC.

Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:05

@Wannakisstheteacher

So you thought she’d be paid, in full, for a whole month when she was off sick, after being there for 4 weeks?
No. Her payslip stated sick pay and some companies do pay sick pay with a sick note even if you've been there a few weeks mine does.
OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:06

@Orchidsonthetable

She can’t have thought she’d get full pay when she’d been only there a month? Surely not, do none of you work?
Yes I do thank you OH works full time and I have 2 jobs.
OP posts:
Booboobagins · 20/03/2022 21:07

@cantthinkofabetterusername

Just to add, if she owes it we will obviously pay it back I was just checking if she had to
They can't require payment in 2 weeks how ridiculous.

She could offer to pay it back £5pcm for 12m if she's on low pay. A court would only expect payments that are reasonable and affordable....

Def check what she should have been paid - you can look up sick pay values on line and just do some approx maths. Alternatively ask her ex employer to break it down for her then you can take a look. She will need revised payslips as the data is reported to HMRC and her record needs correcting.

Orchidsonthetable · 20/03/2022 21:07

But op you said it was normal pay? Your company pays full wage for a month if you’ve only been there a month? That’s very generous and highly unusual.

BuanoKubiamVej · 20/03/2022 21:08

If it's a legitimate debt then yes she would need to repay it sooner or later. But not in 2 weeks. If she had no way of knowing that it wasn't just her wages that were due then it's entirely her right to have spent it before they told her their mistake. So she can offer a repayment plan. Even £5/m would mean that it wouldn't be worth the company's while to take her to court because the court would just say she has to carry on paying the £5/m and eventually the debt will be paid. They can't charge interest as any interest would have to be agreed in advance.

Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:10

@BuanoKubiamVej

If it's a legitimate debt then yes she would need to repay it sooner or later. But not in 2 weeks. If she had no way of knowing that it wasn't just her wages that were due then it's entirely her right to have spent it before they told her their mistake. So she can offer a repayment plan. Even £5/m would mean that it wouldn't be worth the company's while to take her to court because the court would just say she has to carry on paying the £5/m and eventually the debt will be paid. They can't charge interest as any interest would have to be agreed in advance.
Thank you that's what I meant when I said none of us can repay it, not in 2 weeks. DD is happy to set up a payment plan when she starts her new job but we don't know when that will be
OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:13

@Booboobagins thank you

OP posts: