Teachers maternity pay - please help!

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Worrywort98 · 03/12/2024 16:51

Sammie1990 · 02/12/2024 13:44

Hi all

wondering if anyone can help who has been in a similar position. When I left work I went off on maternity leave I expected that I would return to work after a year of maternity leave, however due to a change in partners job I was unable to do so and therefore won’t be returning. As I knew this quite early on the school offset my SMP against what I would owe back. This has left me with £3100 owing to the school. They are asking for the money back in either 1 payment or 3 instalments, I can’t find any guidance on how long you have to pay it back in the burgendy book or elsewhere. Paying in 3 instalments is still going to be difficult for me and I was wondering if this this a reasonable time that they’ve proposed or should I be given more options. Also does anyone know the consequence of not paying it back when they ask for it if they do not budge?

many thanks

Not sure if this is entirely applicable or helpful, but last year i worked for the national trust and my contract came to an end. In the next month I received a paycheck, didn't really pay any attention to it as I thought it was my last payslip and maybe holidays not taken or something...

Long story short, the manager hadn't taken me off the payroll and I had been overpaid. I had just lost my younger sister and was inbetween jobs so generally was a terrible time, the money was spent on rent etc and I thought no more about it. Fast forward a few months and I got a letter to say i owed them x amount of money in overpayment and it was due by a certain date. Naturally panicked as I didn't have the money and wouldn't have been able to pay it back, even by installments.

My lovely partner helped me write an email to explain my circumstances, exactly what had happened and how it was going to be difficult to pay it back. They were very good and forgave the debt. Perhaps you could email and explain your situation @Sammie1990? hope you get sorted, money is so stressful isn't it

ohsohopeful · 03/12/2024 17:19

I'm a union rep and have come across this before. If your school is an academy then they can ask for whatever they want essentially, but they're not allowed to cause hardship, and this is the terminology I'd use in an email. Just say that the proposed repayment plan will cause you and your family significant hardship and you would like them to consider x as an alternative. Ultimately they want the money back, and I've never seen anyone's alternative proposals turned down. Good luck 😊

Original poster

Sammie1990 · 03/12/2024 22:11

Worrywort98 · 03/12/2024 16:51

Not sure if this is entirely applicable or helpful, but last year i worked for the national trust and my contract came to an end. In the next month I received a paycheck, didn't really pay any attention to it as I thought it was my last payslip and maybe holidays not taken or something...

Long story short, the manager hadn't taken me off the payroll and I had been overpaid. I had just lost my younger sister and was inbetween jobs so generally was a terrible time, the money was spent on rent etc and I thought no more about it. Fast forward a few months and I got a letter to say i owed them x amount of money in overpayment and it was due by a certain date. Naturally panicked as I didn't have the money and wouldn't have been able to pay it back, even by installments.

My lovely partner helped me write an email to explain my circumstances, exactly what had happened and how it was going to be difficult to pay it back. They were very good and forgave the debt. Perhaps you could email and explain your situation @Sammie1990? hope you get sorted, money is so stressful isn't it

Show quote history

Hi
thanks for your reply. I’ve already spoken about it with the headteacher of the school who said there is no other option but to pay it back. I think in your circumstance I can totally get why they would write it off but I think because it’s generally accepted it’s paid back there seems to be a hard line on it 🤷🏻‍♀️ x

OP posts:

Original poster

Sammie1990 · 03/12/2024 22:12

ohsohopeful · 03/12/2024 17:19

I'm a union rep and have come across this before. If your school is an academy then they can ask for whatever they want essentially, but they're not allowed to cause hardship, and this is the terminology I'd use in an email. Just say that the proposed repayment plan will cause you and your family significant hardship and you would like them to consider x as an alternative. Ultimately they want the money back, and I've never seen anyone's alternative proposals turned down. Good luck 😊

Hi
thanks for your reply. They are an academy. Do you know what the consequence of not being able to come an agreement would be, essentially if they insist it must be paid back in 3 instalments what happens? X

OP posts:

ohsohopeful · 04/12/2024 11:14

Unless they have a sentence in their maternity policy which states exactly how/when the repayments should be made they can't force you to agree to their repayment plan and it should be a negotiation. If they won't negotiate I would ask your union to get involved on your behalf to reach a solution. The info on the maternity action website states that you should be able to repay in 'small' instalments. What they are proposing is not 'small' and isn't legally enforceable. If you refused to pay it back full stop then they can sue you for breach of contract, it could affect your references going forward I imagine. but it's in their interests not to have to do this really! Hope that helps.