Repayment of Occupation Maternity Pay - any experts?

[tinysleepy]

Hi

Apologies for the long post...
I used to work for my Local Authority and when I was pregnant with my son, thought I would be going back to work at the end of maternity leave and, therefore, took occupational maternity leave.

In the end, I did not go back - I had a premature baby, having had three miscarriages and a husband who had recently had spinal surgery. Also, my mum who were due to look after DS when I went back were nowhere near as reliable or interested as I had hoped in terms of childcare :(

This was last year and they have finally just sent a letter outlining what I need to repay. Its thousands of pounds (my salary was reasonably high before I left).
In addition they started paying my salary even though I didn't go back, so they are now trying to claw that overpayment back too.
Incidentally, I informed them of all the above at the right time, so they have really dragged their heels getting in touch to sort this out.

The total I now need to pay is huge and I have no way of paying back the lump sum. I have recently started doing some freelance work now DS is older (15 months). My husband earns a decent salary, but after all our outgoings we have sod all left at the end of the month.

My questions are:
Are there any unknown, magical justifications to get out of paying some of it back?
Do I have to include my husbands salary when trying to negotiate paying back by installments?
Has anyone else had to pay back OMP for a Local Authority and if so, what level of monthly payments have they allowed?
Any other advice?

Thanks for you advice

Definitely you wouldn't need to include your DH's salary in your discussions with them - its none of their business.

A friend of mine had a similar situation - she negotiated with her employers. Their original figure that she owed wasn't right with regards to tax (can't remember what but meant she owed them less than they'd originally said), also she'd accrued holiday during her mat leave, so that reduced the payments too.

You may also be eligible to apply for a tax rebate?

At the end of the day if you don't have the money there's not much they can do, so they're liable to accept a lower payback figure/nominal monthly repayment than get nothing.

If its a large sum you owe it may be worth getting legal advice or seeing the CAB?

That's why I went back to work for the 13 weeks needed to qualify. Definitely make sure you have the right amount & then negociate payments, you don't want it to escalate.

I worked in the NHS. It was complicated to figure out what I'd need to set aside in anticipation of possibly needing to repay them - my hours varied, I often did extra shifts covering others' absence, etc. When DH and I decided that I would not return it took someone in that department the entire morning to work out what I owed, which was over £1000 (this was in 1999). In ideal circumstances, if they could have told me at the outset what kind of money I'd need to repay then it would have been possible to set some aside in a separate account - but they weren't helpful in that way at all.
Fortunately we were able to realise funds from shares we'd had when our building society became a bank whilst house sale funds were in the account - if it wasn't for that, we'd have been in the same boat as you are now.
Have you contacted your employer to explain your current circumstances and ask how repayments can be made affordable for you? I sincerely hope you receive a sympathetic response.

I was overpaid whilst on maternity leave and had to repay that - my employer agreed to it being paid by instalments.
The advice above is good - check thoroughly that the amount is right and then try and negotiate how much a month you can afford. If they are not reasonable then see if CAB can negotiate on your behalf.

Hi tinysleepy,

Do ask your ex employer for a complete breakdown of all the figures. Once you have this information work out an affordable repayment plan & send this to your ex employer; point out that you informed them early on of your non return to work. Expect to have to haggle a little to reach an amicable agreement. However, if your plan isn't accepted you should:
Make an appointment with your local CABx to discuss the situation &/or make an appointment with a solicitor, experienced in employment law, for a fixed fee consultation - they will give you something between 30 to 60 mins.
If you are still a member of a trade union you can ask the local branch for advice & assistance.
Check your household insurance policy as most include free access to legal advice & representation.
It's best if there is an amicable agreement as you may want to ask your ex employer for a reference should you return to other employment in the future. Ex employers cannot give a bad reference but can make it very brief & most employers know how to 'read between the lines' & phone the referee to ask about wht hasn't been included in the reference.
DO BE PROACTIVE - Employers can & do apply to the County Courts for Enforcement Orders to recover outstanding debts & local authorities have the legal resources to do this.

Best wishes & good luck.

When I took maternity leave I paid the money into a savings account & didn't touch it. Having decided I wasn't going to return to work I repaid the capital & kept the interest.