I've been overpaid by my employer

helliesin

I reduced my working hours in July this year, from 37.5 hours a week to 32 hours a week. The changes were all organised by my area manager, and she did all the paperwork etc. At the same time I came out of the pension scheme and reduced the amount of childcare vouchers I was claiming. All these changes were due to me becoming a single parent and having to juggle childcare issues with the fact that money has become incredibly tight.

It has suddenly become apparent that my employers (nhs) have not changed what they are paying me (I hadn't noticed this as there were a lot of changes to my salary at that time and Payslips confuse me a bit!) and have been over paying me for 5 months. My rough estimate is that ive been overpaid by about £200 a month, although this doesnt take into account the changes in the tax etc.

I don't have the money to give them back :eek: nor can I afford to pay back large amounts on a monthly basis... in reality I can probably afford to pay back about £20 a month!!

Does anybody know where I stand on this?

Jarndyce

You are admitting the overpayment is genuine, so the only question is how and when you pay it back. There will be people on here who will wonder how you managed to miss being overpaid £200 per month, but I make no judgement on that.

Try and negotiate as long a payback period as possible. 2 or 3 years may be possible. It may also be possible to delay the start of the payback eg until your next payrise given that you remain employed, or even waive some or all of the debt but I would have thought in the current climate that was unlikely. If you are in a union get them involved.

smcqis

first and foremost have you or are you intending to tell your employer about this or continue to recieve more money each month than your due?

Googlewhacker

you owe them £1000 then roughly?

£20 a month would take about 4 years to pay back, if you genuinally cannot afford to pay back more then the employer will huff and puff but probably not do anything.

However do you really want this hanging over your head for 4 years?

helliesin

yes, Ive told payroll and they've said they will sort it out when my manager is back from Annual leave in january.

Until then I am left panicking about how to pay it back!

Acc72

Jarndyce wrote: »

There will be people on here who will wonder how you managed to miss being overpaid £200 per month,

Including the employer I am sure ......

Given the number of threads on this topic, it is surprising the number of people who do not realise that they have been overpaid until it is brought to their attention.

helliesin

Acc72 wrote: »

Including the employer I am sure ......

Given the number of threads on this topic, it is surprising the number of people who do not realise that they have been overpaid until it is brought to their attention.

It hastnt 'been brought to my attention', I have brought it to theirs!

Uncertain

helliesin wrote: »

It hastnt 'been brought to my attention', I have brought it to theirs!

Which is very commendable.

What I would say is that you need to take a very careful look at your finances. If the situation really is so tight that you cannot afford more than £20 per month you have reason to be seriously concerned. This has shown that one unexpected thing can cause you real problems.

I would suggest you post on the debt free board to get some advice about how to trim your costs.

planning303

Right..

The employer will want it back now, you will want to pay it back over a time period that is affordable.

They cannot take it directly out of your wages without your consent, but they can take you to the small claims court to attempt to get it back.

The frequency / amount that you pay it back is pretty much down to your and your managers negotiation skills.

What i would recommend is use one of Martins financial planning tools to work out you income / outgoings and then break everything down on that. That will show you what you can afford and give you something to show your employer during the negotiations to try and encourage him to believe that you, when you say you cannot afford more than 20 quid

Good luck

Emmzi

have they still been deductng for pension? a rebate/adjustment in that may give you some small lump sum to offer?

Wellery82

Always surprises me how many people get overpaid when they leave a job also. I know a few people who have had this, one by about £750. None ever mentioned it and it never caught up with any of them!