Wage Overpayment - Can they legally do this?????

sharley_girl

Hi

This is my first post and I'd really help it if you'd all be able to give me some advice.

My husband has been off sick since the end of April with a back injury which he sustained at work. He tried to find out many times what his work would be paying him during May (either SSP or full wage) and got the response "check your contract" when told that he didn't have a copy of his contract he was basically told "that's your problem". At the end of April he was paid full pay (approx £1500), throughout May we heard nothing off his work regarding wages until the day before his payday when he received his payslip and was told that he would be paid a grand total of £71.00. He wage slip was broken down to SSP £400.00, overtime owed £150.00, call out owed £100.00, tax rebate £100.00, deduction fror overpayment the previous month £680.00.

As we only found out the day before, we were unable to stop his DD's from the bank so therefore have incurred bank charges and failed DD charges from his debtors.

We have requested via the CAB that they pay him £600.00 and then set up a re-payment plan but they have rejected all of our requests.

Whislt all the household bills and rent come out of my wages and are therefore covered we now have no money to live on throughout the month. I've prioritised everything that I can think off but unfortunatley there is just not enough money now for the bare essentials for the month.

Whilst his contract states that his company can deduct monies from his wages in the case of overpayment, is it right that they can take over 90% of the wages and also without informing my Husband so that he can make arrangements? Can they legally do this????

Any Help with this would be really helpful as I'm starting to pull my hair out.

Thanks
E :eek:

DVardysShadow

This only deals with a tiny aspect of it, you could try a Data Subject Access Request to get a copy of the contract.

pinkshoes

I would write to the employer (recorded delivery) insisting on a copy of the contract.

I would also ask them to immediately re-imburse the £680 that they deducted as an overpayment, and insist that they contact you to arrange a repayment schedule with proof showing that it was overpaid. I would also hold them responsible for any fees you've incurred due to this unexpected deduction.

Googlewhacker

pinkshoes wrote: »

I would write to the employer (recorded delivery) insisting on a copy of the contract.

I would also ask them to immediately re-imburse the £680 that they deducted as an overpayment, and insist that they contact you to arrange a repayment schedule with proof showing that it was overpaid. I would also hold them responsible for any fees you've incurred due to this unexpected deduction.

This is most likely correct advice but any links for the OP to back it up with?

terra_ferma

Googlewhacker wrote: »

This is most likely correct advice but any links for the OP to back it up with?

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]S13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 states that an employer may not make deductions from the wages of an employed worker unless: [/SIZE][/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]* The deduction is required or authorised by statute;
[/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]* The deduction is authorised by a relevant provision of the worker's contract of employment, or; [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica][SIZE=-1]* The worker has previously given his or her written agreement or consent to the deduction being made. [/SIZE][/FONT]

http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/hrm/steele/bulletin13.htm

I have a feeling that if it's in the contract they can.
They behaved really badly, but what they did is not necessarily illegal.

I would phone ACAS to find out more, as there may be some procedure that they should have followed.

clarkey3262

terra_ferma wrote: »

http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/hrm/steele/bulletin13.htm

I have a feeling that if it's in the contract they can.
They behaved really badly, but what they did is not necessarily illegal.

I would phone ACAS to find out more, as there may be some procedure that they should have followed.

Quote from this site: http://www.paypershop.com/faq/overpaid.html

However, the important point to understand is that the protection offered by the Act does not extend to an overpayment of wages or expenses. An overpayment is specifically excluded from protection. This means that, if your employer recovers the overpayment from your later wages, you cannot complain to an employment tribunal that your employer has made an unlawful deduction.

and

Exempt deductions

The employment legislation also defines a number of kinds of deductions that fall outside of the statutory restrictions on deductions. In other words, your employer may make any of the following deductions without authorisation under your employment contract or without your written permission in advance:

===>your employer has made an overpayment of wages or business expenses to you, for any reason, and wishes to recover the overpayment
===>your employer is entitled to deduct a sum of money from your wages under the provision of disciplinary proceedings that operate under a statutory provision, e.g. in the fire service or police force
===>your employer is required under a statutory provision to deduct monies due to a public authority, e.g. a Council Tax Attachment of Earnings Order
===>you have authorised your employer in writing to deduct amounts from your wages to be paid to a third party, where the third party instructs the employer how much to deduct
===>you have been involved in a strike or other industrial action and your employer decides not to pay you because of your involvement
===>you have authorised your employer in writing to deduct money from your wages that is due to your employer under an order of a court or tribunal.

There are other issues involved if your employer wishes to recover an overpayment of wages or expenses. See the FAQ Can my employer recover an overpayment of wages from my next/future wages?

Basically yes they can. Sorry I couldn't find anything to help you better

Premier_2

The next bit is quite interesting. It's not legally binding but sounds like good grounds for a grievance.

On discovering an overpayment, a good employer should immediately contact you, explain the problem and tell you that the money will be deducted from your next wages. But you should expect your employer to check with you that, by doing so, you will not find yourself in financial difficulties. If a full recovery would cause you problems, your employer may suggest recovering the overpayment in instalments, or taking the full amount of the overpayment and giving you a short-term loan that you would then pay off in instalments.

However, if you still feel that it is entirely unreasonable for the recovery to be made from your wages, you should make use of your employer's grievance procedure. If you raise the grievance before the recovery is made, the employer should wait until the grievance is resolved. If your employer goes ahead with the recovery, you may be able to take your employer to court, but not before following each stage of the grievance procedure precisely, including the appeal procedure if necessary.

Premier_2

sharley_girl wrote: »

...My husband has been off sick since the end of April with a back injury which he sustained at work. ...

Has he claimed compo for this? Could that the reason the employer appears to be acting so awkwardly towards him now?

sharley_girl

Hi

Thanks for all your replies, I'm going to write them another letter and try and appeal to their human side (should they have one!!!!)

He wasn't going to claim for compensation however in the last couple of days we've had to look into it, even to just re-coup his lost earnings. His company do not know this yet, they'll probably go mental when they find out but what can we do, but that won't happen for a week or so.

Where I work, if you have an accident at work then even when we didn't have to pay the employee, (agency or temporary worker) we always did because otherwise it lays you wide open to a claim.

Thanks again.

E

terra_ferma

sharley_girl wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for all your replies, I'm going to write them another letter and try and appeal to their human side (should they have one!!!!)

He wasn't going to claim for compensation however in the last couple of days we've had to look into it, even to just re-coup his lost earnings. His company do not know this yet, they'll probably go mental when they find out but what can we do, but that won't happen for a week or so.

Where I work, if you have an accident at work then even when we didn't have to pay the employee, (agency or temporary worker) we always did because otherwise it lays you wide open to a claim.

Thanks again.

E

There is no doubt that it's really bad practice to behave like that!
In my experience this type of company don't go very far, they lose so much good will (i.e. bits of extra work people do because they are committed to their employer, such as the odd extra time to complete something important).
I've seen a few going bust, with clear signs of lack of business sense like this one!

DVardysShadow

terra_ferma wrote: »

There is no doubt that it's really bad practice to behave like that!
In my experience this type of company don't go very far, they lose so much good will (i.e. bits of extra work people do because they are committed to their employer, such as the odd extra time to complete something important).
I've seen a few going bust, with clear signs of lack of business sense like this one!

You are so right. The older I get, the more I realise that when it comes to meanness or screwing people down, the unintended consequences are usually more significant in the long run than the intended consequences.