employer has overpaid me and demanding to be repaid

bumparoo

Hi, just looking for a bit of advice.
I was due to go on maternity leave in the middle of December past - but due to ill health during pregnancy I was off sick from the middle of November.
After my maternity money was due to begin I checked my online payslips from time to time to see how much is was getting as it was never explained to me what money I would be getting when I was off - no one spoke to me at any stage during my pregnancy although I informed them as soon as I found out. I get paid fortnightly and my money went up and down for about from December until march.
On 24/12/2012 I received £171.70 gross, 7/1/2013 - £383.16, 21/01/2013 – £610.70, 04/02/2013 -£325.50, 18/02/2013 - £446.40.
It then settled at the £446.40 (fortnightly)so I assumed that that was the money I was due. My baby was born on the 1st march and I have since bought a house - so the money I have received is long spent. Apparently I was only supposed to get £135 a week in stat maternity pay.

They now say I owe them upward of £800 which, I suppose is fair enough if I was overpaid - but I am fuming that their mistake has landed me unwittingly in debt to them.

They have given me a repayment schedule until Oct - I get nothing the next time I'm paid, then 6 fortnightly payments of £190 and a final payment of £140.

This I find to be ridiculous - £40 a week if far too much to take out of SMP and would leave me financially snookered - esp after just buying a house and having a baby. I've explained all this to them and I have a meeting tomorrow with the HR manager. I'll struggle even on £136 a week and I'm proposing to offer them £5 a week repayment which can then be reviewed when I return to work. Do they have to accept my offer of token payment? I really can't afford anything else.

Any input much appreciated.

Claire

InsideInsurance

bumparoo wrote: »

Do they have to accept my offer of token payment? I really can't afford anything else.

They dont HAVE to accept it however if they were to go to court to recover the debt the courts would take into account your ability to pay and so if that is all you can afford then thats all they'd get. Obviously any one with any level of experience will know this and so take it into consideration when negotiating

Whilst it is sharing personal information it is better to be open about these things and show why you cannot afford to pay any more.

zzzLazyDaisy

They wouldn't have to go to court to recover the debt. Over payment of wages is an exception to the unlawful deduction rules - they can deduct it from your wages in any amount they choose. Most employers will come to an arrangement to pay in installments, but they don't have to.

lulu650

I'm assuming you're not in a union? Any employer who has overpaid salary has the power to reduce the overpayment or to wipe it out entirely. You need to demonstrate that you genuinely didn't know that you were overpaid, have now spent the money and that it wasn't your fault. I would suggest;

Set out what you were paid from when you were off sick through maternity leave in order to compare with their calculations. You mention your pay went up and down from December through to March, however you have only shown from end December through to mid February. Was the payment on 21/1 more than your actual salary by the way? Your employer needs to give you the timeframe of overpayment. As this is your first maternity you could argue that you assumed that there had been a mistake with maternity pay and that the erratic pay was due to corrections being made.

You need to demonstrate the money has been spent. Not with bank statements, but the date of your house purchase and a few expensive baby purchases should suffice. Try and work out the added expense of having a baby to care for.

Compare your salary with SMP and demonstrate outgoings ie bills.

An employer usually seeks to retrieve overpayment of salary over the same amount of time that you were overpaid. Has that been made clear to you? I can't get my head around the dates. However, you do need to agree the regular amounts and you cannot afford to agree the suggested amount.

To recap; firstly, you should be seeking a reduction in overpayment. I suggest asking your employer to consider wiping out the debt, go through my points above and ask them to consider your good employee history. They are unlikely to wipe it out entirely but will consider a reduction. Don't accept a "no" at the meeting, ask the HR manager to go higher for a definitive answer.

£5 per week is a very low repayment. Carefully go through your finances and demonstrate the absolute maximum you can go to.

Good luck at the meeting

silkyuk9

I was paid over 300 quid once apon a time and I came to an arrangement with payroll to deduct £20 per week until the debt was cleared. They were ok with that, no issues.

Contact payroll and explain your circumstances and try to come to an agreement on how much you can afford each month, im sure they will agree with you.

Tiddlywinks

I find it incredible that anyone would make two life changing decisions - buying a house and having a baby - without knowing what their pay was likely to be within that period.

You were overpaid over a number of months - you made no attempt to clarify your pay amounts even though they varied through that period - you need to accept your part in this error.

As to following Lulu650's advice about asking for the debt to be written off and quoting your extra expenses of the house purchase and the baby... come on, really? That makes you sound like you have no ability to plan and organise - not something you want to project to your employer.

notanewuser

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

I find it incredible that anyone would make two life changing decisions - buying a house and having a baby - without knowing what their pay was likely to be within that period.

You were overpaid over a number of months - you made no attempt to clarify your pay amounts even though they varied through that period - you need to accept your part in this error.

As to following Lulu650's advice about asking for the debt to be written off and quoting your extra expenses of the house purchase and the baby... come on, really? That makes you sound like you have no ability to plan and organise - not something you want to project to your employer.

^^^^ 100%

You actually have to complete paperwork before going on maternity leave! Waiting for the post that says she forgot about the several letters she got, plus her staff handbook which outlines exactly what she's entitled to on maternity leave.