overpaid salary after dismissal and reinstatement

her_up_north

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KiKi

her_up_north wrote: »

i have a question; why do i have to pay this money back when its clearly their error?

You have to pay it back *because* it's an error. Employers are allowed to make mistakes, and the fact that you were dismissed, reinstated, and mentally unwell is irrelevant in law.

If they made an error and underpaid you, you'd want your money, wouldn't you? And rightly so.

If you have evidence that you have been overpaid then you will have to pay it back. Depending on how much you should be able to negotiate paying it back over a period of time.

in addition and more worryingly, i was getting working tax credit which was based on earnings i told hmrc last april and now that this has happened and it LOOKS like ive earned @£4000 more than i declared then the wtc is potentially overpaid for 11/12 and may be stopped altogether for 12/13...of course i have had the money but didnt want it. any advice on how to approach my employer and the hmrc would be appreciated

You can explain to HMRC that it was an error and will be taken back by your employer, and the WTC should be worked out that way.

I don't understand "I have had the money but didn't want it" - do you mean you have the overpayment but didn't spend it? If that's the case then that should make things easier for you whilst it's being paid back.

HTH
KiKi

her_up_north

111111111111

DVardysShadow

her_up_north wrote: »

thanks for the reply. yes i realise it was simply a mistake but its one hell of mistake to make in their circumstances having already breached every acas rule in the book. the other important thing is that they in effect, changed my agreed contract of employment without any consent from me. i will challenge them legally in any way i can especially as they have placed my wtc in jeopardy too. with regard to the money itself i have spent quite considerable amount of it as i paid off a credit card and a personal loan as i didnt want to be facing having these debts with no income..ps; have you ever tried to get common sense from hmrc..and actually achieved it?

Hold on. You seem to be going off on one. And you need to stop, right now.

One of 2 things has happened

• They made a mistake
• They did it deliberately to wind you up

It does not matter which it is, letting them wind you up is not going to play out well.

You have done the right things asking for the relevant documents. Now just wait until they come. If they take their time, then fine, it is more time for you. Start putting money aside. Take your case forward with HMRC and agree with the employer on a repayment schedule for while your tax credits are wrong and for when they are put right.

Googlewhacker

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Hold on. You seem to be going off on one. And you need to stop, right now.

One of 2 things has happened

• They made a mistake
• They did it deliberately to wind you up

It does not matter which it is, letting them wind you up is not going to play out well.

You have done the right things asking for the relevant documents. Now just wait until they come. If they take their time, then fine, it is more time for you. Start putting money aside. Take your case forward with HMRC and agree with the employer on a repayment schedule for while your tax credits are wrong and for when they are put right.

Spot on....

dtaylor84

her_up_north wrote: »

especially as they have placed my wtc in jeopardy too.

You seem to be angry that they have given you too much money AND angry that they want to take it back. You can't have it both ways.

her_up_north

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Googlewhacker

her_up_north wrote: »

thanks all for the advice...as you can imagine my anger re the unfair dismissal is still simmering and now.. this ! the problem arises in that when i return the review forms for my wtc very soon i will have to report the higher incorrect figure as paid earnings and the likely effect will be that my tax credits will promptly stop.
i will wait for the p45 and the payslip and be open and honest with hmrc but dont forget if its not scripted they can barely answer the simplest of questions at the best ot times...as for my employer matters are not good as they are additionally already invited to an employment tribunal in july on other already conceeded harrassment issues...

Not sure the employer will see it as being invited to a tribunal lol!

Googlewhacker

As a side, you could look to negotiate with them depending on how much the difference is and how much you realistically believe you would get if you win the tribunal.

Ie, you drop the overpayment reclaim and I will drop the ET on the basis its done as a compromise agreement (if you do this you may as well throw in a reference as well for future basis)

KiKi

Their incompetence and breaking every 'ACAS rule' (not that ACAS pass any legislation) is utterly irrelevant; you have to pay it back.

You said you didn't want the money, and that you paid no attention to your bank account because you were seriously mentally unwell. But you also deliberately paid of a credit card and loan with the money.

You have to pay it back. It doesn't 'compensate' for other mistakes. You were dismissed, appealed, and won - that's how the process works, and clearly for you, it *did* work. You don't get to keep the cash.

KiKi

DVardysShadow

her_up_north wrote: »

yes kiki i did pay off 2 debts very shortly before reinstatement and before i knew of the overpayment...after weeks of being very unwell though i wouldnt say it was deliberate..more a case of common sense and i dont have to justify those actions to anyone as is it doesnt alter the fact that they made the mistake in the first place

Well as you have paid off some debts, I suppose it is not unreasonable to start paying the employer back at the same rate you would be paying towards those debts.