advice sought with employment "overpayment"...

jonnym

I finished working for quite a large company a year ago and set up on my own. We agreed that I would work my 12 weeks notice to help them find a replacement for me and they knew that my wife was pregnant at the time, and that I could be going off for paternal leave at any time during the 12 weeks for 2 weeks.

Those two weeks were the last ones with the company as the baby arrived late.

About six months ago, I received a letter from them saying that I owed them £542 as a wage overpayment, and when I asked for the details as I didn't believe I owed them anything, they sent me a letter saying that the last two weeks off I had with the comapny were holiday, to which I had not accrued, yet I had been paid for.

I feel that I should be entitled to my paternal leave payand have asked them to look into on several occasions. i have spoken with their litigation department on several occasions, who have now accepted that my son is not fictional, but say I must speak to payroll to have them adjust it. I have rung payroll, and they say they will look into it and amend the debt. I know I don't owe them anything, and I had my bookkeeper look into it and he is of the same mind...that it's a computer error that I have not been paid my paternity.

After being pased from pillar to post this past six weeks, I have received a letter today saying the amount has been passed to debt recovery dept. and I must make payment in seven days or agree a timeframe for payment of this money. I also don't know if this will now affect my credit rating.

I need to speak to them again on monday, but if anyone can offer any advice on what I can say or do to make someone take responsibilty, i would appreciate it. I should probably put the case in writing and send special delivery to them, but i have been passed through that many departments withinthe organisation, I really don't know who I would send it to.

any help is greatly appreciated.

mum2kathryn

Hi,

If you go to the directgov website they have info on paternity leave, your rights, and arbitration bodies in the event of problems. The link is:

hth.
Niki

Ms_Chocaholic

What is the company's paternity leave policy - two week's paid paternity leave? Did the Litigation Department agree that you should not have to pay the money back? Did you get the name of the person to whom you spoke in the Litigation Department who agreed this.

Do you still live locally to the company. If so I would write the MD a letter (giving them a timeframe by which to reply), hand deliver it (get a receipt for it) and send a copy it to the debt recovery agency.

jonnym

Ms_Chocaholic wrote:

What is the company's paternity leave policy - two week's paid paternity leave? Did the Litigation Department agree that you should not have to pay the money back? Did you get the name of the person to whom you spoke in the Litigation Department who agreed this.

Do you still live locally to the company. If so I would write the MD a letter (giving them a timeframe by which to reply), hand deliver it (get a receipt for it) and send a copy it to the debt recovery agency.

Firstly, Thanks for taking the time to reply, both of you.

No, they are based quite a way from me. The lady at litigation agreed (I do have her name too) that the amount was wrong and I had indeed been charged when I was fully entitled to paternity leave. 1 weeks full pay and 1 week @ a reduced rate.

I have spoken to a friend of the family, who is in the legal profession and he is going to look atit for me before I call them tomorrow, so it's nice to have someone who knows what they are doing!

Sillychuckie

jonnym wrote:

The lady at litigation agreed (I do have her name too) that the amount was wrong and I had indeed been charged when I was fully entitled to paternity leave. 1 weeks full pay and 1 week @ a reduced rate.

Assuming you didn't record the conversation (as I would have...), contact this person again requesting a confirmation in writing.