If your work accidentally paid you a huge bonus would you tell them?

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I've been paid a big bonus in my last pay and I know my company has made mistake - I changed roles, and I don't know what they've done but it's along the lines of them paying me my full years sales commission, despite already being paid it quarterly throughout the year. It's about 2 months salary. I work for a huge company with complex bonus/sales commission rules and I'm pretty confident they would never notice or ask for the money back if I said nothing. The money would be nice, since I've already quit to be a full time carer for my disabled son and going forward things will be very tight (I'm just working out my notice). I had to take 6 months unpaid leave already this year to care for him, another reason why the money would be handy and also why I'm confident I'm not entitled to the bonus!

I'm a good honest person so I've already told HR and they are looking into it. I assume they will rectify their mistake and ask for the money back, although I suppose there's a chance the admin will be more hassle than it's worth and they'll let me keep it! It did make me wonder though, how many people would be this honest/stupid?

They will want it back.

I would never lie about money, it’s not worth the potential trouble. You are the opposite of stupid for informing the company

Yes. Because they could claim it back once discovered and, if I hadn’t told them (I would and did), then I’d look like a pretty shitty employee!
How would you look anyone in the eye again with them knowing you’d try to keep it?

They will definitely ask for it back. And they’d have most likely worked it out at the end of the tax year anyway, not telling them would have been theft. Hopefully not many people are stupid enough to think they’d get away with it!

No I’d never lie about money.

Plus they will find out, there will be an accountant who will spot the mistake.

and also, I honestly think you would have a better chance of them letting you keep some of the money just for being honest. Not say they will do that.. but if they was to offer, it would be a reward for being honest and not for being a thief.

You absolutely have to pay it back but during the interim put the money in a high interest savings account and get the 20p interest.

Morally yes without question but also I don't many companies that would not pick up on it someday

I came back from mat leave to a pre agreed payrise, but also reduced my hours. As a result I didn't realise they'd messed up the sums and were overpaying me for about 8 months. It was about 20% of my salary when I realised. I told payroll, who didn't believe me, until I did the sums in front of them.

They let me keep it as a reward for being honest!!

They will find out when their accounts are done (and audited as you say the are a big company).

Haha yes

I wouldn't spend it and would keep it in my account and not say anything! I'm saving up a house deposit, if they hadn't asked by around 2 years time when I expect to start looking to buy I would use it for that.

There was a thread on here recently about this. The advice was to put the overpayment in a separate account so you don't spend it, earn interest, put your chasing up in writing and save a copy, then sit tight.

There were quite a lot of people who hadn't been chased. I think they have 7 years to ask for it back.

Oooo I dunno.

My current company, I'd tell them.....my old company who treated me horrendously...I might have squirreled it away for a couple of years and waited to see 🤣

I mean you can keep and then be sacked for gross misconduct and be without a job plus have to pay it back and loose a reference

your choice 🤷‍♀️

Stash it in a savings account.

Make a note of the date and time of your communications, who you spoke to, what you said, what they said, find some evidence of the phone call. phone record. keep it in a safe place.

let it grow for 7 years and it’s yours.

or pay it back when they ask for it. You won’t owe interest, you’ve been honest, and have the evidence to back up your honesty.

some bigger companies - understaffed, underpaid, someone might just file it in the to do pile, and then it will never be got to.

you did the right thing. In my experience, doing the right thing, results in good things. So fingers crossed you can enjoy it.

OP clearly stated she's quit to be a full time carer. Probably not arsed about these things.

What's the point in not telling them? It's all traceable so their accountant will resolve it even if your conscience doesn't.

Pay it back

Sackable offence if you notice a payout error and say nothing. And two month salary lump sum landing in your account is hardly ‘ooops that £££££ I thought that was my Ocado refund’ level.

And they will eventually find out. Every large business runs financial audits regularly and it’s so easy to follow the money these days.

Yes I would tell them, because when the auditors come in for their annual check, they will immediately trace it back to you.
Then you'd be in bother and have it to repay.

I would inform them anyway, but surely asap is better to try and sort out. The tax/pension/NI implications are going to be a pain in the arse to sort out when they realise, and they will eventually, at a later date.

Good point that lots of people have mentioned re accountants and auditors. Very possible they wouldn't notice until next year then it would come up in some kind of audit, makes me glad I decided to flag it.

IDK about in UK, but here in the US it would be considered theft. Keeping money that you know was paid to you in error is stealing, straight up. And the prosecution would have an easy time proving you knew it was a mistake due to you posting about it on social media.

Sooner or later they'll catch the mistake and they'll recall the funds at your bank. My company did something similar a few years back, though not a huge sum of money. Somehow payroll forgot to take all our deductions out for taxes and paid us our gross. A few months later they emailed all of us to point it out and noted they'd be netting it out of our next check.

Jesús I bet they’d never notice - it would just be a rounding error if the company is huge.

I would def stick in a savings account and see what happened. Tho like the idea of telling them in writing. I am at you all being so keen to give money back to some big company.

I wonder how they'd want me to pay it back. They can't take it out if my salary because it's more than they'll owe me by the time I leave! I'm also thinking this is going to be a nightmare to sort out with tax, child benefit etc.