Overpaid by ex employer - their mistake

Laurra

Hi,

I just want some advice please. I was overpaid by my ex employer from April 2017 until October 2018. This was only brought to my attention by my ex employer the month after we were TUPE’d back to our old employer. They didn’t stop increasing my pay scale, which they should have done (my contract confirms my pay scales), so overpaid me by £437. I had no idea I was being overpaid and I don’t agree with having to pay it back as it was there mistake. They have made the same mistake with other staff over the years so they are aware of our pay scales. Also, I can’t afford to pay it back, even at a low amount as I am currently trying to clear other debt I have, which I am struggling to pay. Does anyone know my rights if I disagree with it? Or what will happen if I refuse to pay it?

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

Welcome to MSE

So they knew your payscales, but so did you, surely? So you could (and arguably should) have checked that your salary was correct when it changed.

You could write and ask them to justify how the overpayment occurred and explain why you could not be expected to realise that you were not being correctly paid. You could ask them to write the overpayment off. They have no obligation to do so.

You don't really have any rights if you disagree. Your only rights would be if they had not, in fact, overpaid you.

If you refuse to pay, they might take you to court. The court would require a financial disclosure and set out a repayment plan, but court costs would be added to what you already owe.

[Deleted User]

There’s no excuse not to know your monthly pay as you are fully aware of the pay scale you are attached to like anyone else.

Dean000000

....and you’ve kinda already had the money....

Pay the people back!

If needs be, at a proportional level to that it was paid to you...

I.e £30/month or whatever

Lioness_Twinkletoes

Laurra wrote: »

Hi,

I just want some advice please. I was overpaid by my ex employer from April 2017 until October 2018. This was only brought to my attention by my ex employer the month after we were TUPE’d back to our old employer. They didn’t stop increasing my pay scale, which they should have done (my contract confirms my pay scales), so overpaid me by £437. I had no idea I was being overpaid and I don’t agree with having to pay it back as it was there mistake. They have made the same mistake with other staff over the years so they are aware of our pay scales. Also, I can’t afford to pay it back, even at a low amount as I am currently trying to clear other debt I have, which I am struggling to pay. Does anyone know my rights if I disagree with it? Or what will happen if I refuse to pay it?

Thanks

Flip side of the coin:

I just want some advice please. I was underpaid by my ex employer from April 2017 until October 2018. This was only brought to my attention by my ex employer the month after we were TUPE’d back to our old employer. They didn’t increase my pay scale, which they should have done (my contract confirms my pay scales), so underpaid me by £437. I had no idea I was being underpaid and they want back. They have made the same mistake with other staff over the years so they are aware of our pay scales. Also, I am currently trying to clear other debt I have, which I am struggling to pay. They are now refusing to pay it back because they said I should have noticed my salary was wrong. Can I make them pay it?

Would this be OK? Of course not. Pay the overpayment back. It's reasonable to make an arrangement to pay it over the same period of time it was paid to you.

Gavin83

Laurra wrote: »

Does anyone know my rights if I disagree with it? Or what will happen if I refuse to pay it?

You have no rights, assuming you do actually owe the money, which you don't appear to be disputing. If you refuse to pay they'll likely take you to court, which you'll almost certainly lose.

Your best bet is to speak to them and agree a reasonable payment plan you can afford.

TBagpuss

As others have said, while it was their mistake, you could (and arguably should) have known about the mistake and yes, you do have to repay it.

You can of course ask to repay it gradually, over the same period as it was built up, and as it is a relatively small amlunt you could also ask whether they are prepared to waive it and to simply pay you the correct amount going forward, but they have not obligation to agree.

If you want to ask to repay it over time, they may ask you to set out a schedule of your current incom and outgoings to show what amount you can payeach week/month towards the debt.

Exodi

These threads always make me chuckle, you get about one a week and they honestly brighten my mood.

"I've been overpaid, do I have to give it back?" - hahaha, I'd love to know the thought process that goes behind this.

As if there's some law that decrees "[1] AN EMPLOYEE WHO IS UNDERPAID BY AN EMPLOYERS MISTAKE SHALL BE ENTITLED TO BE REIMBURSED BY THE EMPLOYER FORTHWITH. [2] AN EMPLOYEE WHO IS OVERPAID BY AN EMPLOYERS MISTAKE GETS TO KEEP IT. ABIDE THE LAW."

I'm just praying our accounts department accidentally type an extra 0 at the end of my pay so I can join you with "IT'S YOUR MISTAKE ERGO I GET TO KEEP IT!!!", this would be after waiting for them to approach me about it of course, as obviously I wouldn't notice it as do none of the posters of these threads.

I remember the good ol' days when employees knew how much they were paid.

Dox

Laurra wrote: »

Hi,

I just want some advice please. I was overpaid by my ex employer from April 2017 until October 2018. This was only brought to my attention by my ex employer the month after we were TUPE’d back to our old employer. They didn’t stop increasing my pay scale, which they should have done (my contract confirms my pay scales), so overpaid me by £437. I had no idea I was being overpaid and I don’t agree with having to pay it back as it was there mistake. They have made the same mistake with other staff over the years so they are aware of our pay scales. Also, I can’t afford to pay it back, even at a low amount as I am currently trying to clear other debt I have, which I am struggling to pay. Does anyone know my rights if I disagree with it? Or what will happen if I refuse to pay it?

Thanks

You will almost certainly need to pay it back, although occasionally something known as a 'change of position' defence can mean that the employer can't reclaim - but this is unusual and you would need to show you could not have realised the payments were wrong. Given that you know your pay scales, I think you'd fail that particular test.

This being the case, you will need to repay, but certainly not all in one go if it would create hardship. The rule of thumb is that you should be given the same amount of time to repay as the amount of time you were overpaid. If even that would cause problems, put forward your own repayment plan, even if only a couple of pounds a week. It is highly unlikely an employer will take you to court for the grand total of £437, especially if you can demonstrate you have offered to repay the maximum you can realistically afford.

robatwork

Thread comes up every month.

Always a new poster.

Always the same advice.

They never come back to say they've paid it back or are on a monthly £20 payback to make it up.

My guess is they're all on reddit or legalbeagles being told the same thing.