Work overpayment?

[WWYD2020]

Returned from Mat leave where company policy is to take any accrued days in a block then begin what ever the agreed new pattern is.

All agreed with line manager, there seems to be a miscommunication between line manager and hr. I’ve seen the email that line manager sent hr and whilst it’s confusing it’s definitely right in terms of what I should be paid and when.

Hr have subsequently paid too much incorrectly interpreting the email.
I asked a question re holidays and how many had been taken came up, I said exactly what happened knowing that they’d probably realise but they didn’t, they’re still adamant it’s correct. Even when questioned.

I definitely know it’s wrong.
How hard should I push? Or should I even?
I’ve been on such a tiny amount for a year that it’s clouding my judgement.

[jillandhersprite]

I would do 1 email - so its in writing that you believe its incorrect.
Which will probably not do anything
Then I would put the money aside - because in about a years time when the accountants are checking it will be picked up and then at that point they will get all aggressive and demand it back.
I wouldn't touch it till a few years have passed - I can understand the temptation but I just couldn't consider it mine for a long while...

[WWYD2020]

That’s a good idea @jillandhersprite they have always been a bit ‘loose’, almost every month there’s something wrong and I’ve always said and got it corrected.

Hmm, it’s so tempting but if it’s found out I would feel so incredibly awkward about it. I even used to point out when they’d paid me an extra half an hour or something usually to be told ‘ah don’t worry about it’

[PlanDeRaccordement]

I agree set it aside after informing them in writing that you believe you have been overpaid (and save it as proof you were being honest).

I had that happen once and FIVE YEARS later they got around to it and asked for the money back. Of course, it mucked my taxes up a bit as that overpayment had been recorded as income on which I’d paid taxes. So I had to do a repayment credit the year I paid it back so that I could get back the taxes on that money, because when they come for it, they come for the pretax full amount.

[WWYD2020]

That sound like an awful lot of effort @PlanDeRaccordement

That may have been the final nudge I needed!

[PositiveAttitude]

If they realise they have made a mistake, by law they have to negotiate a payment plan with you and cannot demand it all back in one go.

[PlanDeRaccordement]

@WWYD2020
Meh. It was more annoying than anything. I still have a folder with everything in it including a letter from them saying I’d paid it all back. For some reason I think they’re so incompetent that they might come after me again!

[TakeYourFinalPosition]

They have six years legally to rectify their mistake if they notice it, and while they do have to accept a payment plan if that's all you can do at that time, it has to be a "reasonable" plan. Which means it has to be affordable to you, but it also has to repay the money back to them. It's unlikely, but not impossible, that a court would let you pay £1 a month forever; for example.

I'd make a few attempts to give it back, but only because I'd be anxious about them coming for it over six years - if that wouldn't bother you as much, you might want to make less attempts and just pay it back when they discover it.

Make any attempts in writing, though, and save a copy somewhere if you're using work emails, so that you'll have access to them even if you don't work there in four years or whatever.

[polkadotraindrops]

@WWYD2020

Returned from Mat leave where company policy is to take any accrued days in a block then begin what ever the agreed new pattern is.

All agreed with line manager, there seems to be a miscommunication between line manager and hr. I’ve seen the email that line manager sent hr and whilst it’s confusing it’s definitely right in terms of what I should be paid and when.

Hr have subsequently paid too much incorrectly interpreting the email.
I asked a question re holidays and how many had been taken came up, I said exactly what happened knowing that they’d probably realise but they didn’t, they’re still adamant it’s correct. Even when questioned.

I definitely know it’s wrong.
How hard should I push? Or should I even?
I’ve been on such a tiny amount for a year that it’s clouding my judgement.

I've had quite a few friends have this happen to. They've been asked for the money back down the line, some quite far down the line so I'd try to rectify it and keep the money to one side.

[WeatherwaxLives]

I had something similar. I dropped a few hours after ML but also had a payrise while I was off, and didn't realise they'd only given me the payrise and not dropped the hours.

When I did realise, over a year later, I had to really push them to look into it, they were adamant that they couldn't be wrong. It was about 4 grand and building so I really wanted it stopped. I'd spent it as well, because I didn't realise it wasn't mine!

Thankfully they let me keep it because I couldn't have afforded to pay it back. They said because it was me that had noticed and pushed to get it sorted they wanted to reward my honesty.

[Moondust001]

@PositiveAttitude

If they realise they have made a mistake, by law they have to negotiate a payment plan with you and cannot demand it all back in one go.

Which law is that then?

This simply isn't true. If a debt goes as far as a court case the3n a court will determine whether it is reasonable to expect repayment in full, or what a reasonable repayment plan would be if that is not possible. There is no law that says an employer must set up a payment plan, reasonable or not - it is simply the case if someone genuinely cannot repay an amount in full (which should not be the case here, since the OP can set it aside now) then an employer would be daft going to law simply to get a repayment plan set down by the court. So most employers would agree a repayment plan (which may not be the same thing as what you would call reasonable), but there is no law that says they have to.

It is also the case that many employers are wise to employees not repaying what they owe and have terms that allow them to deduct money owed. The law in general does not permit such a deduction to take someone below the minimum wage, but anything they earn above that is fair game. And a final salary is all fair game in such circumstances - an employer can reclaim everything you owe even if you are left without a penny.

[WWYD2020]

It’s not that much, I have it in savings although I have spent the actual salary it came in I wouldn’t need a payment plan or anything.

Someone probably will notice though over the next 6 bloody years and i don’t think I could cope with that 😂.

Thank you, I’ve decided to push on further in my quest to give it back.