Ex Employer over payment and constructive dismissal

2143lewis

Hi all.

Wonder if you can help with a case of constructive dismiss/over payment.

OVER PAYMENT
I left my old job in January this year. After months of Complaining about unreasonable workload. Unpaid overtime. Horrible/Aggressive management. Forced weekend work.Horrible working environment. Having my training fund retracted i handed in my notice as i mentality couldn't take it anymore. The job had ruined me and my family life for the best part of 2 years and was happy to get shot of it. Even if it meant being unemployed with bills hanging over me.

I handed my notice in mid January and gave 4 weeks notice as per my contract.
The manager said i could leave on "Garden Leave" As he already had a replacement for me.
(He had my job advertised since October as i said in a meeting if things didn't change i would have to leave)
I received a further wage in April and March, I assumed the April wage was holiday and whatever hours worked was outstanding.

I haven't been working since i left the company as mentally in a really bad place. I was so low i attempted to end my own life. Thankfully i had a partner to support me and after 5 month i finally feel me again and have started a new job. This letter has knocked me back to square 1 as i don't have any money apart from the March wage. I am currently walking 4 miles to get to my current job as cant afford the luxury of the bus

Where do i stand ?
Constructive Dismissal
My partner says i should file for constructive dismissal as in my new job the person they hired to replace me works in my new team and he lasted 4 weeks and has full account of the on goings there. Plus my job was advertised several months before i handed in my notice.
Examples he witnessed:
-Manager smashing up his office. Slamming doors and shouting abuse at staff

-Working 6 hours overtime per week and not getting paid. He said he left at 4:30 on Friday and was pulled into the office by management and shouted at for leaving stating "if you want to leave at your finish time it has to be advised in the morning"

-Unreasonable workload which meant working during your lunch break and an extra hour or 2 per day to finish the work load.

- Having to answer your work phone 24/7. As drivers and customers were to call you as first point of contact - Unpaid.

-Working 12 days in a row as per the forced weekends, This meant doing you standard Monday to Friday - Saturday and Sunday - Monday to Friday. 80 Hours standard - Not including the hours overtime you were doing each night or if there was problems at the weekend.


I understand this is a long rant and i apologies. I've done so well the past week and the thought of working the next year to pay them back is putting me back in the dark place again.

jobbingmusician

I don't understand what your question is. Did you delete part of your original post, perhaps accidentally? Because all of a sudden you talk about 'this letter', but that is the first and only mention of a letter. Have they written to you claiming they have overpaid you, asking for repayment?

theoretica

Did the hours you needed to work put you below minimum wage?

Gavin83

You say the best part of 2 years, how long is that exactly? Less than 2 years you have no options anyway, even if you had a solid case. In all honesty given what you've written here I'm not sure you'd have a case anyway, most of what you've written is not unusual. As mentioned above if the overtime takes you below minimum wage you'd be owed money but you've no legal right to paid overtime otherwise, unless your contract specified it.

In terms of the overpayment are you disputing it and have they given you a breakdown?

The best thing for you to do would be to just forget this episode and move on with your life. Constructive dismissal cases are drawn out, nasty and mentally taxing even if you did have a strong case. I'd suggest focusing on your mental health for the moment and if you aren't already seeing someone for it you should look into this too.

[Deleted User]

You could go and see the likes of Citizens Advice for any letter received that is demanding payment.

You are out of time to be raising any formalities I would have thought, isn't it normally 3 months after leaving. Happy to be corrected but I thought there is a time limit.

I wouldn't take someone else's experience of your former workplace as gospel. They could be winding you up with the intention of doing so or doing you more harm then good as to be honest all you are best doing with bad workplaces is trying to put them behind you.

I left a workplace (although HR were very, very efficient) where 20 year olds were paid the same as those way older so experience meant nothing at all, so many hours over time unpaid each week if you weren't brave enough to be pig headed, job was miles away, job changed it's hours from 9-5.30pm Mon to Sat to 8am - 9pm Mon to Sun, no extra to pay turned up as promised apart from the obliged minimum wage rise - best thing I could do was to walk away and the next best thing is I don't miss them even ending up with a two month job with another temp that bizzarely thinks we're in competition for the job and will do anything to appear better when that sort of thing is now lost on me, along with ending up not knowing where I want to be (It absolutely goals me that I can never tell the real truth in polite society as to why I left).

Got to commend you on walking to job - I do the same choosing to park at a park n ride and then walking to the business park which is over crowded and has double parking which very weirdly my new work place doesn't really get though I do see the point I'm 'cream crackering' myself before I start and maybe it's not the best plan in setting myself up for a new day.

Comms69

Unless things have changed you're out of time for a CD claim (3 months less a day)

ska_lover

I am too, confused, as to what the question is, OP

It does sound like you have gone through a hell of a bumpy ride though

2143lewis

Apologies the whole situation has thrown me to be honest. Hence the mess of the post.

My problem is. If i had know this was an over payment a few months ago i would have paid it back immediately or at the very least adjusted my spending or claimed benefits to bridge the gap.

My new job is minimum wage. I took it to pay the bills. If i was to stay at this job and pay this back monthly it would take almost 2 years and i would be essentially working to pay my mortgage and previous employer....

2143lewis

Gavin83 wrote: »

You say the best part of 2 years, how long is that exactly? Less than 2 years you have no options anyway, even if you had a solid case. In all honesty given what you've written here I'm not sure you'd have a case anyway, most of what you've written is not unusual. As mentioned above if the overtime takes you below minimum wage you'd be owed money but you've no legal right to paid overtime otherwise, unless your contract specified it.

In terms of the overpayment are you disputing it and have they given you a breakdown?

The best thing for you to do would be to just forget this episode and move on with your life. Constructive dismissal cases are drawn out, nasty and mentally taxing even if you did have a strong case. I'd suggest focusing on your mental health for the moment and if you aren't already seeing someone for it you should look into this too.

I was happy to walk away and leave the past until they demanded i pay them back £3200.
Since i was out of work for 6 month and now on minimum wage. Paying that back is going to leave me with nothing or worse...:idea:

elsien

Do you dispute the overpayment or do you acknowledge the money is owed but you don't want to pay it back due to the circumstances?
Did you not check your payslips at the time?

4 weeks notice from mid January takes you to mid Feb - did the subsequent payments for March/April not ring any alarm bells at all - that's a heck of a lot of holiday pay.

Comms69

2143lewis wrote: »

Apologies the whole situation has thrown me to be honest. Hence the mess of the post.

My problem is. If i had know this was an over payment a few months ago i would have paid it back immediately or at the very least adjusted my spending or claimed benefits to bridge the gap.

My new job is minimum wage. I took it to pay the bills. If i was to stay at this job and pay this back monthly it would take almost 2 years and i would be essentially working to pay my mortgage and previous employer....

Well they may take you to court for it, they'd obviously win, and you would have 28 days to pay them back - CCJ

2143lewis wrote: »

I was happy to walk away and leave the past until they demanded i pay them back £3200.
Since i was out of work for 6 month and now on minimum wage. Paying that back is going to leave me with nothing or worse...:idea:

That is obviously an issue. I can understand 1 pay packet spent, but not two. I suggest you offer a payment plan to clear the debt