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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:
BeanStew22 · 20/03/2022 21:18

Agree with PPs, the money can be legitimately reclaimed but the company need to be reasonable on timeframes : see below from ACAS

www.acas.org.uk/reclaim-money-owed-by-an-employee

Spud1130 · 20/03/2022 21:33

So this happened in October and they've now just noticed and given her 2 weeks? 2 weeks until what happens?

Have they contacted her about this previously and she's ignored it hoping it'll go away?

Nightdancer · 20/03/2022 21:37

Wow. A few shitty responses here. Yes OP, if she was paid in error she will definitely have to pay it back.

Firstly, who at 17 knows all about employment law and sick pay? She's 17 fucking years old. Even adults might not be well acquainted with the ins and outs of sick pay. It could be that they've just never abused the system - doesn't mean they don't have a fucking job.

DysmalRadius · 20/03/2022 21:39

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....

That would take 10 years to pay back!! Surely it works be better to pay it off as quickly as possible?

rainyskylight · 20/03/2022 21:39

agree with @Nightdancer. reading payslips is not straightforward and it takes time and experience to know how to spot an error. further, the OP's DD reasonably thought that her well-known clothes shop employer would know what the hell they're doing.

Nightdancer · 20/03/2022 21:45

@rainyskylight 👏 absolutely! If personnel/wages can't get it right, why should a young person, who could possibly be in their first job, know whether their payment is correct? At 17 I would've well been hitting the town on that wage Grin

Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:49

@Spud1130

So this happened in October and they've now just noticed and given her 2 weeks? 2 weeks until what happens?

Have they contacted her about this previously and she's ignored it hoping it'll go away?

No yesterday was the first we've heard from them
OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:53

@Nightdancer

Wow. A few shitty responses here. Yes OP, if she was paid in error she will definitely have to pay it back.

Firstly, who at 17 knows all about employment law and sick pay? She's 17 fucking years old. Even adults might not be well acquainted with the ins and outs of sick pay. It could be that they've just never abused the system - doesn't mean they don't have a fucking job.

Thank you so much. I work 2 jobs, my OH works full time. None of us take time off sick so I'm not clued up on sick pay but in my main job I get full pay for 6 months. Just because I don't abuse the system doesn't mean I don't work! Quite the opposite in fact.
OP posts:
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 21:55

[quote BeanStew22]Agree with PPs, the money can be legitimately reclaimed but the company need to be reasonable on timeframes : see below from ACAS

www.acas.org.uk/reclaim-money-owed-by-an-employee[/quote]
Thank you

OP posts:
Pyri · 20/03/2022 21:58

@cantthinkofabetterusername

The wage was the same wage she usually got and as it stated sick pay on there she assumed it was right
Given she only worked there for a month I’m surprised she could count on the wage she “normally” got!
Original poster
cantthinkofabetterusername · 20/03/2022 22:01

@Pyri she had a full months wage at the end of September

OP posts:
TheRealityCheque · 20/03/2022 22:01

"Dear CF company,

Due to the wording on the payslip, I was unaware that an error has been made.

I have accepted the money in good faith, believing it to be correct. The money has since been spent and as I am currently not working I have no way of repaying anything.

Furthermore, you have not produced amy suitable breakdown of how you perceive an overpayment has been made.

If you wish to provide me with a detailed breakdown of how you believe an overpayment has been made, I will engage the services of a professional payroll specialist to confirm this.

As any error would have been made by yourselves, If the specialist agrees then I will arrange a payment plan to return any monies owed to you, less the cost charged to me of the specialist. Please also note that if the cost of the specialist exceeds the vhe of any monies owed by me I will instead invoice you for the difference.

You sending me the detailed breakdown will constitute your acceptance of these terms.

Regards

Me"

MiddleParking · 20/03/2022 22:05

@TheRealityCheque

"Dear CF company,

Due to the wording on the payslip, I was unaware that an error has been made.

I have accepted the money in good faith, believing it to be correct. The money has since been spent and as I am currently not working I have no way of repaying anything.

Furthermore, you have not produced amy suitable breakdown of how you perceive an overpayment has been made.

If you wish to provide me with a detailed breakdown of how you believe an overpayment has been made, I will engage the services of a professional payroll specialist to confirm this.

As any error would have been made by yourselves, If the specialist agrees then I will arrange a payment plan to return any monies owed to you, less the cost charged to me of the specialist. Please also note that if the cost of the specialist exceeds the vhe of any monies owed by me I will instead invoice you for the difference.

You sending me the detailed breakdown will constitute your acceptance of these terms.

Regards

Me"

There’s a good chunk of your Sunday evening you’ll never get back.
TheRealityCheque · 20/03/2022 22:12

@middleparking

Lol. It took less than 2 minutes. And practically guarantees you won't hear from that company again.

MichelleScarn · 20/03/2022 22:35

@TheRealityCheque would they not just have to say, here's the breakdown, you got paid for 8 weeks, you only worked 4.

Hankunamatata · 20/03/2022 22:56

Surely you can see if she has been overpaid from pay slips. October would have been statutory sick pay at the most if she is working in retail so £96.35 a week so £385 ish for the month of October. Yes she will need to pay it back

BoredZelda · 20/03/2022 22:58

There’s a good chunk of your Sunday evening you’ll never get back.

😆😆😆

sparepantsandtoothbrush · 20/03/2022 23:05

[quote TheRealityCheque]@middleparking

Lol. It took less than 2 minutes. And practically guarantees you won't hear from that company again.[/quote]
What a load of bollocks. You really think what you've written will result in no further contact from them?

Not even a 17 year old in their first job would expect £600 sick pay after only working 4 weeks surely?

ASaucerfulOfSecrets · 20/03/2022 23:17

Dd had similar and she’d been left over a year.
In her case it was much more complex, some sick pay entitlement and some raises to take into consideration. It did take a fair bit of backwards and forwards to establish exact amounts. When that was finally sorted she paid it back over six months.

You can send the overly long winded missive from the poster above but engaging in a letter war over something this simple is probably futile. Better to go with “sorry, didn’t realise, can we arrange a payment plan”.

WhatsitWiggle · 20/03/2022 23:32

As she's no longer an employee, the ex company can request she pays back the overpayment, but she could dispute it on the basis the payslip said sick pay. If she refuses to pay, they'd have to go down the legal route so it's whether you want to risk that. She can request a repayment plan with what is affordable to her.

Apols for Mirror link but it's a very similar scenario with their expert advising.

www.mirror.co.uk/money/my-employer-overpaid-800-pay-18968762.amp

Anon778833 · 20/03/2022 23:34

@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?
How rude you are!
QuillBill · 21/03/2022 06:16

Stay clear of that terrible letter.

It's ridiculous.

Moodycow78 · 21/03/2022 07:01

They probably paid company sick pay instead of SSP. If she's been overpaid they could take her to court to recover but most places don't bother.

londonrach · 21/03/2022 07:04

If she been overpaid she has to legally repay it and the company will probably go to court to recover it. I was overpaid once and had to repay every penny. I was still working for the company so in my case it was easy to slightly pay me less.

Piratesue · 21/03/2022 07:06

I imagine they have proceeded SSP and when it has been sent off for payment their payroll company has flagged that she didnt qualify for it as she has not been there long enough. However SSP is only £97 per week so they may have also paid her for hours she didnt work. Look at the breakdown of her payslips and see If it states hours on there as well.