I've been overpaid by my employer, WWYD?

[Whattodowithoverpayment]

I work on a minimum-wage, zero-hours contract for a huge multinational company. I've just opened my latest payslip and they've overpaid me by around £750. I can see that whoever processed the payment has miscalculated the hours I worked last month. If the company was smaller I'd fess up, but they definitely won't miss £750. I'm flat broke and the money will mean so much to my family this Christmas. But I'm worried they'll find out and make me pay it back. What should I do?

Tell them. Don’t be tempted not to as the repercussions could be serious for you.

They will notice and you’ll pay it back eventually, better get the wheels moving now 😢

It’s theft - if they discover it you could end up out of a job and with a criminal record. Is it worth it for £750 ?

Yep, tell them and put the overpaid money aside now so you don’t spend it.

Tell them. It's worse if you don't and they find out

Sorry OP you need to tell them. Especially if you're claiming UC as well.

@TotallyFloored How can I get a criminal record? I don't follow. Surely that would only happen if they requested the money back and I refused.

They might not notice actually (depends how good their controls are) and you could just say you didn't realise and then agree a repayment plan if they do raise with you. My firm would usually agree for repayment over 3 months.

This happened to me once, they worked it out within about a week and I had to pay it all back - gutted. I had planned to stay quiet for as long as could get away with though as needed the cash… I’d hang onto it and see if you can get away with it but be prepared to give it back if they ask!

Pay it back. No ifs. No buts. Firstly it’s theft, secondly they likely will find out at some point, thirdly you’ll have to pay it back which by the sounds of things you won’t have the spare money to do in the future. I’ve dealt with so many of these in my organisation and it never ends well.

Tell them.
You don't want to spend it and d it come out of next month's pay
You don't want to lose your job!

Tell them and arrange to give it back immediately. They will notice at some point and you'll then be scraping the barrel trying to find £750 that it sounds like you don't have. Do your future self a favour and ring HR now.

Tell them, they will notice and reclaim. An employer did this to me just before I changed back accounts about 10 years ago. I notified them so they could recall it.

Then four years later I got notification that there was £800 sitting in the account! They’d never recalled it. Company had folded by then.

So in the end it was mine.

I can’t believe you have to ask.

I work for a large multinational and I was overpaid by about £7k once - yes, seven thousand pounds! I told my boss immediately. Turns out it wasn’t an overpayment but a strange loop hole around maternity leave and bonuses. It never occurred to me not to say anything.

Those saying it’s theft, they have given it to her? She didn’t take it. Also, some people literally don’t check their account and wouldn’t even notice. OP if someone has just typed in your hours wrong, you might get away with it, it’s easy for mess ups in casual work to happen like that. Both my DDs work casual places like that and theirs can be out fairly regularly - not by as much as yours but often a couple of hours here and there and they keep it and no one notices. Not your fault someone else can’t do their job properly!

Tell them and put the money aside and see what happens. It happened to me. - I told accounts who told HR. HR manager said to leave it with her but nothing happened. A year later she left. I left a few years later. There’s been lots of turnover since so I really doubt anyone is chasing it now.

Yeah

If they've miscalculated i think its unlikely they will notice.

Keep quiet.

But keep the money to the side in case you need to pay it back.

And if they figure it out just say you hadn't realised.

This happened to me - also on a zero hours contract. My hourly rate was reduced (despite doing the same work with a different job title) but they continued paying me at the old rate for several months.
I didn't say anything. When they noticed their error, they didn't tell me, but just clawed it back from next month's pay.
It's extremely unlikely you'll get a criminal record - what if you simply hadn't noticed the overpayment?

This happened to one of my colleagues (although with a much larger amount of money) and it did get picked up eventually. There was no question of it being treated as theft but her managers were pretty disappointed in her and she had to pay it all back.

Thats quite a big miscalculation on a minimum wage job @Whattodowithoverpayment! Are you sure it’s all wrong? Remember you’ll have holiday pay in there too.

As others have said, they will notice and ask for it back and it doesn’t sound like you’d be in a position to pay out that kind of money when they do so just pay it back now.

I’ve been overpaid . Have to pay it back; £225 a month. Wounded.

So many sanctimonious replies, typical bloody MN… it’s theft, tell them immediately, can’t believe you have to ask, pay it back now before it gets deducted from your meagre salary blah blah blah.
OP, I definitely wouldn’t spend it, but sit tight for a while and see what happens. If they notice and ask for it back, you can reasonably claim you didn’t realise, and return. If it doesn’t come to light, say nothing. It was their mistake, and as you say, it’s not a small business. That’s the way the cookie crumbles - and I hope they never know and you get to keep it.
Easy to be morally superior when you’re not on a tight budget and a zero hours contract, people.

Give over? A criminal record because of an over payment that OP didn't make 😂

You won't. It is their mistake.

But the employer can ask for it back and you would have to repay it if they do.