I've been overpaid

ShinyShinyStar

Sorry for a long post but im just looking for a bit of guidance.
So I work for the council over 3 jobs, it has been 4 in the past and I know I should've been checking my pay slips but honestly it really confuses me with the different jobs+overtime, lesson learnt there I'm much more familiar with it now!
I was working 10 hours in one location then 7.5hours in another per week but I appplied and got a position of 15hours so the 10 became 15 but I hadn't realised that I was still getting payment for the 7.5hours too.
I only noticed this when my supervisor talked to me about it.
Payroll phoned me today and said the money owed is £1,800 gross, but deduction NI/TAX and pension contributions it's £1,200
Obviously I know I need to pay this, on the phone they were asking how much I could afford etc I said I'd have a think about it and agreed that I'd be in touch by the end of the week.
If am able to pay it all back in one go is that a better way or is instalments deducted from my pay better?
I've only been in contact through the phone, if I pay it in full is it acceptable for me to ask for a letter of confirmation that it's been paid back?

With the NI/TAX do I need to do anything?

Thanks in advance

jobbingmusician

You have said that the gross overpayment is £1800, and with NI/Tax and pension allowed for it's only £1200. So it sounds as if you don't have to worry about these, the employer will sort it out.

So, assuming this is correct and they don't come back to you with adjustments, it sounds to me as if you have a choice to repay them £1200 over time (I would suggest £100 a month) or in a lump sum. To me it's a no-brainer - you are getting an interest free loan if you repay month by month. I imagine your employer will be happy with such a neat amount of repayment - I doubt that they would accept a period longer than a year.

However, if you are the sort of person that hates being in debt and would feel it a weight off your mind if it were sorted immediately, it's an argument for repayment in full. In which case, yes, it's quite in order for you to ask for a statement from your employer saying how much you owe and how much you have repaid. (You could also ask for a statement that the entire amount has been repaid - when you have done so - if you choose to repay over a period.)

John-K_3

You should check that they do deal with the tax and NI correctly, but if it were me Id pay it back at once, rather than having it hang around for weeks or months.

Yes, you can get a few pounds investing it in the interim, but is it really worth it?

Manxman_in_exile

If it's a council employer they must have a proper payroll system and they should only be recovering the net overpayment. (The payroll system will sort out tax and NI).


How long a period has this overpayment arisen over? I used to work in the NHS and the accepted practice was that overpayments would be recovered over the same period. So if you were overpaid over a period of six months, it would be acceptable to pay it back over six months. (Longer if you could genuinely establish hardship).


I'd ask for a written breakdown of the overpayment and then agree how to pay it back. I'd go for instalments, but if you can afford to pay it back in one go, it's over and done with.


If you are in a union, have you asked their advice?


(EDIT: sorry - cross posted with jobbingmusician and John-K)