Delay in pay disadvantaged my maternity pay

[katieks]

Hi, I put in pay sheets for extra work I did at end of April to be paid in May pay run. Received reply 'Thanks' and nothing more.

I contacted HR near end of May to confirm that they had been processed and was told, there was a mistake on them (I needed to specify the hours worked, even though the form only asks for the dates!) and that I needed to resubmit them and then they would be actioned. No one had contacted me before I contacted them at the end of May to tell me that I needed to add the hours too and the form doesn't say or have space to add the hours.

So now they have only been paid in June pay. But April and May were the months that my maternity pay has been based on, hence I am disadvantaged by this delay. I am annoyed by this, but it also makes me think that the forms were never even looked at before I contacted them at the end of May or else surely they would've contacted me to say they can't process them if the hours are missing.

For context, I put the dates as the form only asked for dates (they were all full days). When I added the hours, nothing had changed - they were still all full days.

Anyone got any advice? Have I got grounds for a challenge/grievance?

I have no knowledge on this bit if that had happened to me I'd be asking payroll to sort it out/pay me the extra. You shouldn't be underpaid because of them not asking you to write the hours on, especially as you had to chase them about it. Have you got evidence that you submitted it on time originally?

Yes it was emailed on 24 April and I received a reply 'Thanks', so they did receive it.

Do you get SMP only or does this affect any occupational mat pay too?

Unfortunately SMP calcs have to be based on what was actually paid in the relevant period, but there's no harm in asking your employer to make up the difference themselves.

Getting them to concede it is their error which has caused you detriment is the key though. They may argue that your incorrect overtime submission is to blame rather than them not paying you when you submitted it (although best practice would obviously have been to point out what you needed to submit in order for them to be able to process it rather than just leaving your paperwork languishing in an in-tray somewhere until you rang up on payday).

It affects occupational pay too. For me it makes a pay difference overall of around £3.5k(!!) so not to be sneezed at. Really annoyed by this as now it's all too late, but then why didn't they tell me the forms were wrong - were they just never going to pay it until I questioned it?!

Bloody hell. For that amount of money I'd be putting in a complaint to the head of payroll/HR (and I don't say that lightly as I'm in payroll and HATE complaints!!)

In your shoes, I would argue that all information was actually completed on the form (ie the form only asks for dates, not hours worked), the form was submitted in good time for processing in May and that it should have been followed up with you when it was discovered not to include hours worked, not just ignored until you chased it up. It is their form which is unclear, and assuming you get paid at end of month there was plenty of time after you submitted it on 24th Apr in which to rectify the problem before payroll was finalised for May. You submitted it believing in good faith that you had completed it correctly and were not notified to the contrary.

I would further argue that as the underpayment in May was therefore a result of inaction on the part of HR/payroll, had they correctly processed the additional pay owed via a supplementary run at the end of May and then submitted an updated FPS to HMRC which included these figures, then it could have been included in the SMP calcs as it would have formed part of your May pay. Instead of doing so they just bunged it on the next payroll to make their lives easier and this has detrimented you financially.

I would definitely be arguing that it is at the very least PARTLY HR's fault that this has occurred (even if you did fill in the form wrong by accident, they gave you no opportunity to rectify) therefore they should pay you the difference as a gesture of good will.

Anything's worth a shot when there's £3.5k in play!

This can be changed - there are a few circumstances where you can review the amount of SMP and being underpaid is one of them.

www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-maternity-pay-employee-circumstances-that-affect-payment#underpayments-and-overpayments

Lay it all out in a letter with a comprehensive calculation and ask them to confirm the error will be rectified in line with legal requirements.

Do you have an HR department separate from Payroll? If so copy them in.

I hate this shitty type of incompetence.

Payroll is straightforward and just requires organisation and attention to detail.