Can anyone advise?

[user124368]

This will be long and I've name changed as very outting!

I agreed a date with hr last year that I would go off on maternity leave and they were to come back to me with a return date. I then went off early on the sick advised my line manager and sent her sick notes which were right up to DC was born. (I work for a large plc hr is in a different country and sick pay is 6 months full pay)

All fine only the paid me for 11 months!
The hr person left and no one took over. No one ever contacted me at all throughout the year until last month to inform me they are making me redundant (the whole office is being made redundant). I pointed out they had over paid me and they suggested a settlement figure for my redundancy may be reached.

They then phone a week later to say settlement figure isn't an option I have to come back full time for 5 months to get my redundancy and that I owe them 3 times the actual amount I do.

Company maternity pay is 18 weeks full pay however they are quoting to me it is 6 weeks which it is in another country (I do have a copy of the maternity policy) I explained it's not in our contracts but they had no clue what I was talking about.

So they are claiming I owe them for 11 months minus stat maternity pay minus 6 weeks pay as they have no record of sick notes but my line manager has confirmed she received them and has misplaced them

This is wrong obviously and I pointed that out.

Which brings me to now my understanding is an employer can't take money from your pay you must agree how the money is paid back and this must be in writing between both parties however, this month I am technically off on holidays from last year therefore would be entitled to full pay and they have not paid me at all.

Where do I even start with this and how on earth do they expect me to go back and work there for another 5 months every time I go in for redundancy meetings I'm literally shaking I've no idea why as I'm usually quite confident!

Wwyd??

Contact your union asap

I should have mentioned we don't have a union

I should have also mentioned I still don't and never have had a return to work date. I'm going off my own calculations!

Write a letter, recorded delivery, laying out all the facts and addressing it directly to your line manager (who I presume is in in UK where you're also based?)

State according to your records:

• the facts they've given you, including the 11 month payment they made plus date received in your bank account.
• what is stated in the U.K. mat policy (give date of the policy so they know which version you're referring to)
• exactly what you don't agree with because it isn't as stated in the policy
• date when you can feasibly return to work (you'd normally have to do that anyway)

State in the letter a reasonable deadline eg 7 days, for them to come back to you with an initial response and resolution to the matter. Suggest a date when you can present yourself at your normal place of work to discuss the matter fully, to try and resolve it.

Channel everything through your line manager, as it doesn't matter where your HR/ payroll is effected from, your LM is your best chance of getting it resolved if they are in the same timelines and country as you.

Keep an eye on your bank account to ensure they don't make a payment direct to you, but don't advise you of it - it sounds like the type of incompetent thing they would do based on your description.

If they've paid you 11 months' salary, for the time being you aren't out of pocket, but it obviously needs to be fully resolved. They can deduct from your salary, but it needs to be for a valid reason, according to contract, and by agreement. You'd need them to explain any deduction before you drew a conclusion it was an unlawful deduction. Currently it's in such a mess, it's difficult to draw any conclusion!

"Which brings me to now my understanding is an employer can't take money from your pay you must agree how the money is paid back and this must be in writing between both parties "

Nope. Either there might be a contract clause allowing them to make deductions, or, if the deduction is because of an overpayment, which this is, they don't need consent at all.

How many times during the 11 months did you contact them to say you were being overpaid? Did you put the money aside rather than spend it?

If you are off sick with a pregnancy-related illness at 36 weeks your maternity leave will start automatically.

I don't understand the redundancy - are they saying your role will be redundant in 5 months' time? That seems odd - it's very long notice. Why do you think it's unreasonable of them to expect you to return if your role isn't yet redundant?

They've obviously messed up your pay, but if you've been overpaid you've been overpaid, and you clearly know you have. Pay back whatever you have put aside, which hopefully is virtually all of it as you knew it was wrong, but make sure you clearly set out how much you believe it is and why, based on the local maternity policy, your dates of sickness/maternity leave and any other evidence you have.

Too late in this case for the OP but this is a cautionary tale in the importance of joining a union.

I should have mentioned we don't have a union

@MyOtherProfile you jogged my memory thx - I meant to say to the OP that you don't need to "have a Union" at your place of work to join a Union yourself. Everyone (UK) has the right to join a union if they choose.

Unions earn their subs by ensuring members' employment rights are upheld, and can give specific advice on exactly this kind of issue, esp. if HR is administered remotely.

Totally agree Daisy. I don't know why people don't join a union. You never know when you might need one.

There is some helpful guidance on the ACAS website about the approach recommended for deduction of overpayments. Interesting that it talks about timescales, and that the longer ago the payment took place the increased emphasis placed on agreeing with the employee to recover the funds in a timeframe and amount the employee can support. It doesn't dismiss the employee's obligation to highlight the overpayment, of course, but the employer is expected to be magnanimous in not just grabbing back the funds with no consultation.

You have the right to deduct money from an employee’s pay if you recently made a simple overpayment. Speak to the person and let them know how you're going to claim it back.

If the overpayment was a long time ago, or overpayments have been going on for several weeks or months, you should:

be flexible and fair claiming the money back
agree a repayment plan if needed
If you cannot agree a repayment plan, you should not simply deduct money from their wages. The law can be complicated in this area so speak to an Acas adviser to discuss your options.

Source (ACAS new design website): beta.acas.org.uk/reclaim-money-owed-by-an-employee

Ask your Dr for a letter confirming the dates that you were covered by sicknotes.

By UK law, if you are on sick leave during pregnancy your company can insist that you start maternity leave 4 weeks before your due date you you should calculate from that point.

www.gov.uk/maternity-pay-leave/leave

That would mean from your work policy that you would have been entitled to full pay for the 4 weeks pre due date and 14 weeks post due date, then statutory maternity pay for a further 25 weeks.