Paying back maternity pay

markmh

hi all

my wife is a teacher. Her maternity leave started on 1 jan 1015 and ended on 31 december 2015.

during this period she received ssp and pay from her school.

she informed the school that she would not be returning to the school when her maternity leave had finished.

As per the law she had to repay some of her maternity pay as she was not returning. In October 2015 she wrote to tell the school she would not be returning and she asked if they could calculate the amount she was required to pay back.

A number of phone calls followed from my wife to the school and local authority where she was told by both the local authority and the school that the amount was being queried and that they were not sure if she was entitled to claim holiday pay while she was away and whether that holiday pay amount should be knocked off the amount she owed (eventually they accepted it should be). During the last phone call with the school my wife was told that it was taking so long to confirm the amount because the school wanted to make sure it was right and the amount she would be asked to pay in the confirmation letter would be accurate.

Eventully in early january we received a letter confirming the amount to be paid back was around £341 and an invoice would be sent shortly. last week, 5 weeks after that letter another was received which said the original amount had not been checked and that the amount owed was over £900 - triple the original amount.

We have asked them to tell us how it is calculated and why the figure is 3 times the amount.


I would be interested to know your thoughts on whether we would be within our rights to pay the first amount and reject the second amount? We are not disputing that we have to pay. What we are frustrated about is that it took 2 months to send a figure which we were told 3 times would be right and had been checked and we have now had a letter for 3 times the amount because the first figure wasnt checked.

Thanks

Mark

Valli

Why not get your wife to chase/query this through her union?

The likelihood is, though, that it's the LA who should be dealing with this, not the school.

Johnnytwostep

markmh wrote: »

hi all

my wife is a teacher. Her maternity leave started on 1 jan 1015 and ended on 31 december 2015.

during this period she received ssp and pay from her school.

she informed the school that she would not be returning to the school when her maternity leave had finished.

As per the law she had to repay some of her maternity pay as she was not returning. In October 2015 she wrote to tell the school she would not be returning and she asked if they could calculate the amount she was required to pay back.

A number of phone calls followed from my wife to the school and local authority where she was told by both the local authority and the school that the amount was being queried and that they were not sure if she was entitled to claim holiday pay while she was away and whether that holiday pay amount should be knocked off the amount she owed (eventually they accepted it should be). During the last phone call with the school my wife was told that it was taking so long to confirm the amount because the school wanted to make sure it was right and the amount she would be asked to pay in the confirmation letter would be accurate.

Eventully in early january we received a letter confirming the amount to be paid back was around £341 and an invoice would be sent shortly. last week, 5 weeks after that letter another was received which said the original amount had not been checked and that the amount owed was over £900 - triple the original amount.

We have asked them to tell us how it is calculated and why the figure is 3 times the amount.


I would be interested to know your thoughts on whether we would be within our rights to pay the first amount and reject the second amount? We are not disputing that we have to pay. What we are frustrated about is that it took 2 months to send a figure which we were told 3 times would be right and had been checked and we have now had a letter for 3 times the amount because the first figure wasnt checked.

Thanks

Mark

You could do that,
but if it turns out the second amount is correct, the LA is within its rights to take you to court for the amount you think you dont have to pay.

markmh

the LA apparently told the school the original amount. the school then wrote to us to confirm the £341. The new communication is from the LA telling us they got it wrong.

it seems to me that the school and la have a problem communicating and as a result we are suffering.

markmh

Johnnytwostep wrote: »

You could do that,
but if it turns out the second amount is correct, the LA is within its rights to take you to court for the amount you think you dont have to pay.

even though they told us the first amount was correct and that it had been checked?


that seems unfair, i would have thought in a court their actions would be seen as being unreasonable given the amount of time they took to confirm the amount and then the 5 weeks they took to find that the amount wasnt correct despite saying it was and it had been checked.

ViolaLass

You should definitely go through your union as there are a few points that don't add up here.

Teachers don't get holiday pay so that's irrelevant to the amount to be paid back. Your union will know exactly what calculation to do and who to speak to.

Johnnytwostep

markmh wrote: »

even though they told us the first amount was correct and that it had been checked?


that seems unfair, i would have thought in a court their actions would be seen as being unreasonable given the amount of time they took to confirm the amount and then the 5 weeks they took to find that the amount wasnt correct despite saying it was and it had been checked.

yes people make mistakes, and no they have 6 years to chase up a debt, 5 yrs in scotland.

It may seem unfair but thats the way it is.

Also, why are you so certain that the lesser amount is correct (other than it being more adventageous for yourself)?

markmh

Johnnytwostep wrote: »

yes people make mistakes, and no they have 6 years to chase up a debt, 5 yrs in scotland.

It may seem unfair but thats the way it is.

Also, why are you so certain that the lesser amount is correct (other than it being more adventageous for yourself)?

im not certain the lesser amount is correct, but i do think that if they repeadtedly checked it as they said they did it should be right the first time what i suspect is that the LA confirmed the amount and the school has asked them to change it because they think its too low. To go around changing invoices 5 weeks after they were sent is poor practice and i was wondering what others thought about it as we may go to a tribuneral about it.

I didnt know they have 6 years to collect debts. Would this apply to the school or the LA. the school is an academy so not technically part of the LA.

Valli

If the school is an academy then you will need to check whether they buy in their payroll from the LA or elsewhere. Also the contract terms may well differ from those of teachers employed in LA schools. Without the T&Cs we really are just guessing.

The union is the way to go.

Johnnytwostep

markmh wrote: »

im not certain the lesser amount is correct, find our how they calculated the two amounts, but i do think that if they repeadtedly checked it as they said they did it should be right the first time what i suspect doesnt matter what you suspect-facts needed is that the LA confirmed the amount and the school has asked them to change it because they think its too low. To go around changing invoices 5 weeks after they were sent is poor practice, possibly, but also could be seen as good practice to admit their mistake, and i was wondering what others thought about it as we may go to a tribuneral about it, why a tribunal?.

I didnt know they have 6 years to collect debts. Would this apply to the school or the LA. the school is an academy so not technically part of the LA. whoever is requesting this money/pays your salary

...................................

sangie595

markmh wrote: »

To go around changing invoices 5 weeks after they were sent is poor practice and i was wondering what others thought about it as we may go to a tribuneral about it. .

And what, exactly, do you think a tribunal could do about this? Have they broken any employment laws (the answer to that would be no).

You have a right to know how the amount you owe is calculated, and you should ask to see the calculation. But if you owe it, you owe it, and how long it takes to sort it out has no relevance to anything. Neither does who you owe it to. What is owed is owed.

I don't exactly see how you are "suffering". They have overpaid your wife, you always knew they had overpaid her, and you still know she has been overpaid. So they have "loaned" you money which they now require back because in choosing not to return to work she has a debt. How is this "suffering"?