Overpayment of Wages

lerwick

Hi all, i have been on maternity leave for the past six months and have been receiving my normal wages which is just over£400 per month. Before I proceeded on maternity leave, I informed my manager and handed in the maternity certificate from the midwives as well as an internal form detailing how long i was planning to be away for. She told me it has been processed and approved so i started my maternity leave at the appointed time. I got a call yesterday fromn HR saying that they were never aware that I was on maternity leave and that they have been paying me as if i was still working. They also went ahead to say that i was not entitled to SMP because i earn just below the threshold and that I have to refund over £2400 which they have paid me. They are also going to send me SMP1 form which I can use to claim from the hmrc(but i think this is too late). I do not have any money to pay back in the first instance, i followed the correct procedure and informed my manager, it is unfortunate that she did not do her job well and now i have to suffer for it. HR claims that they were not aware of my maternity leave but they employed a maternity cover for me who is still working my hours. Please any advice would be appreciated on the right course of action for me to take. Many thanks.

Notmyrealname

Regardless of where the blame lies, they are entitled to reclaim the overpayment. As SMP is 90% of your wages and the lower threshold is £102 a week which is more than you were earning, surely you must have known that you were being overpaid when you were receiving £400 a month?

You need to discuss a repayment plan with them.

McKneff

I can only agree with notmyrealname, you dont have any choice but to pay it back.

Why didnt you tell them that you were being paid and you didnt think you should be.
You must have noticed that your pay didnt change.

You are hardly suffering, youve had the 2.4K at that point you were well into pocket and when you pay it back you will be in exactly the same position that you were before.

lerwick

Thanks for your response. I had no idea I was being overpaid. My wages came in as before so I assumed that was the right amount. I have never claimed SMP before so i did not know how much it was and what I was due. If SMP is 90% of wage, surely i should be made to repay the extra 10% which was paid in error and not the entire amount. I have no problems repaying this amount if I can get Maternity allowance from the government but I have been told that i can only claim the remaining three months MA and not the past 6 months. So where am I going to get the money from?

lerwick

I can only agree with notmyrealname, you dont have any choice but to pay it back.

Why didnt you tell them that you were being paid and you didnt think you should be. I worked with the company long enough to qualify for SMP. The only reason I did not qualify was because my earnings is just below the threshold and I was only made aware of that this morning by my employer.

You must have noticed that your pay didnt change. The only time I would have done something about it is if my pay was more than I usually recieved. It was the same so i assumed that was the right pay since it was approved by HR

You are hardly suffering, youve had the 2.4K at that point you were well into pocket and when you pay it back you will be in exactly the same position that you were before. Thank you, I am not a thief nor a fraud. I am a hardworking woman and I followed the correct procedures. If my documents were properly processed then I wouldn't have been in this position. I would have been informed that I did not qualify for SMP at the initial stage and I would have been able to sort myself out via the maternity allowance.

lerwick

any more opinions pls? Please don't read and run lol

Carl31

I think the others have been a little harsh, id imagine many people at your firm have been on maternity before, so you would expect them to understand proceedings. Also, many firms pay full wages for a period

However, you do need to pay it back. Im sure they will allow you to work the debt off or arrange some sort of repayment plan

stroodes

Lerwick,
I would post this also in the employment jobseeking and training forum, hopefuly you may recieve more help than your getting here and before the yelping starts I also think she may have to repay but surely her employers are responsible for any smp payments that she has not received that she was entitled to, anyway Lerwick try the above forum, hope you get it sorted.

McKneff

lerwick wrote: »

I can only agree with notmyrealname, you dont have any choice but to pay it back.

Why didnt you tell them that you were being paid and you didnt think you should be. I worked with the company long enough to qualify for SMP. The only reason I did not qualify was because my earnings is just below the threshold and I was only made aware of that this morning by my employer.

You must have noticed that your pay didnt change. The only time I would have done something about it is if my pay was more than I usually recieved. It was the same so i assumed that was the right pay since it was approved by HR

You are hardly suffering, youve had the 2.4K at that point you were well into pocket and when you pay it back you will be in exactly the same position that you were before. Thank you, I am not a thief nor a fraud. I am a hardworking woman and I followed the correct procedures. If my documents were properly processed then I wouldn't have been in this position. I would have been informed that I did not qualify for SMP at the initial stage and I would have been able to sort myself out via the maternity allowance.

Just one last word from me, then I'm off, nobody in any of this thread has called you a theif or a fraud. It never crossed my mind.

Most people going off on maternity leave would normally research what they are entitled to beforehand so they can sort their budget out.

Notmyrealname

lerwick wrote: »

Thanks for your response. I had no idea I was being overpaid. My wages came in as before so I assumed that was the right amount. I have never claimed SMP before so i did not know how much it was and what I was due. If SMP is 90% of wage, surely i should be made to repay the extra 10% which was paid in error and not the entire amount. I have no problems repaying this amount if I can get Maternity allowance from the government but I have been told that i can only claim the remaining three months MA and not the past 6 months. So where am I going to get the money from?

No, SMP is 90% of your wage as long as you earn at least the minimum threshold to qualify. If you don't earn the minimum amount to qualify which it appears you didn't, then you have to claim from the govt.

So if the threshold is £102 and you earn £100 you don't get a thing but if you earn £102 you get 90% of that.

lerwick

McKneff wrote: »

Just one last word from me, then I'm off, nobody in any of this thread has called you a theif or a fraud. It never crossed my mind.

Most people going off on maternity leave would normally research what they are entitled to beforehand so they can sort their budget out.

I don't sit down and worry about pennies when i have more pressing issues that has to do with life and death.