Payroll and overpayment of wages after leaving employer...

back_in_the_game

Hiya guys,

just a quick query really - my fiance left her employer at the start of August. At the start of September she received a fully months wages for all of August, and then at the start of this month she also received another payment for around £120..

The manager at the local office where she used to work sent a letter advising that they needed her uniform back and also that she should contact payroll to correct a discrepancy in her wages. She has contact payroll who were very blunt and basically started banging on about "we pay over 4,000 people, we don't know anything about it, your manager is supposed to contact us" - after being told by her manager that she should contact payroll directly.

Anywho, we understand and respect that this money will need to be paid back when someone finally spots the mistake - but when this does happen, if she offers to pay back at a reasonable amount (say, £50 a month because the mortgage and bills have gone out now and it is their mistake), can they refuse this offer and still go down the legal route to get it back? Or would it be kicked to the kerb at their first contact with the legal eagles because she is co-operating? She's worried that they would reject such an offer and make her life more miserable (which is precisely the reason why she left in the first place - just when she thinks she's finally able to move on from a horrible time they're getting back in touch sending letters and bothering her about things which they're not even 100% sure about).

Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks in advance

Glennn

When she left was it for another job? If so I presume you have been paid for August by your new and old employer? If so you should have effectively double wages and have the money to pay back?

If not I would start saving, how much was overpaid and how much have you spent? I would also write a letter to them (recorded) letting them know the error and ask them to confirm the amount etc. Then you can discuss paying it back.

back_in_the_game

No she did not leave for another job so there's no double wages.

The basic question here I guess, is whether the employer could reject a 'reasonable offer to repay in instalments'? - the recorded letter is a good idea for when they do spit their dummy out but until then each of the managers and departments are passing the book back and forth so even if we did have the money (which we don't because there's a mortgage and bills to pay) we wouldn't know who to pay the money to or any admin references they'd want attaching to the payment info..

This company couldn't run a bath, and as a result many employees (including my fiance) have had to cope with undue stress and have ended up leaving. Now there's this mess to sort out which is just bringing it all back for her..

Glennn

I would start putting money away now and wait for the letter to arrive regarding the overpayment. Although not the most honest thing to do... you could ignore the first letter and wait for them to threaten action. Only reason I say this is because an old employer of mine used to chase with a couple of letters if an overpayment had been made to a leaver but never actually went through with any action. Of course I wouldn't recommend that as you owe the money so should pay it back plus will you need a reference from them???

As for the question of will they reject a payment plan, well I suppose you won't know until it is discussed. I am sure they would rather have payments over 6 months though for example instead of going to court.

scottn

In my experience, you will be asked to repay it in one lump sum, an offer of £50 a month is unlikely to be accepted - particularly as they will more than likely wish all funds to be returned before they close of their end of year accounts.

They may never notice and she may get off with it (great!) On the other hand, they could pass it to a debt collection agency of some sort if their first requests for it to be returned are unsuccessful.