Work (council) have sent me a HUGE bill for not going back after Mat Leave. Can I beg with them to reduce it?? Help!

[umberella]

It's over £2000.

Crappity crap. We are so poor atm.

Just goes to show, when they say you'll have to pay it back if you don't return... they mean it! Local Authorities are actually very reasonable and only ask you to be back 12wks or so before you don't have to pay anything back.

i read my contract over about a thousand times, to see just exactly how much time i had to go back in order to not owe them money.

ended up staying long after that, but it was going to be a chunk of change for sure.

bummer, umbrella!

pretty sure they'll work out a payment plan.

From the look of it then they have paid you a maternity package in excess of that which you thougt you were going to get. Now whilst in an ideal world you would have noticed this you'd just had a baby etc etc and who actually looks at their bank statements anyway etc etc

Yep, i would have gone back for the 3 months if I could have found another job after that easily enough but the chances of that were super-slim unfortunately.

there are literally about ten jobs in scotland worth doing in my field so they don't come up often.

fingers x'd for me expat, i will report back tomorrow!!

Expat - I did that too. As it happens I've gone back for good and am staying but I wanted to be evry sure of where I stood should it all go pearshaped

will do, umbrella.

i hated the job i had to go back to, but man, paying it back would've been super bad.

thank you NL! I think this is what's happened and like a total numpty I haven't paid attention. There have been a LOT of other things going on in my life apart from DD's arrival too so I have taken my eye off the ball .

It's very understandable and very unlucky Still to look on the brighter side - are you enjoying you new job?

Yes! it's great. It's going to be very hard over the next few months but will be worth it in the end I think.

Were you able to give htme the correct notice period before starting the new job - was there any overlap of SMP and you earning again which they could question ?

Bump for news?

Just a quick thought, not read all the pages of posts, but my employer classes returning on the sick as a return ! I'd never do it as I love my jjob, but know people who have done it (and left immediately the time period was up)