Paid too much - keep quiet or come clean?

MacMickster

Socajam wrote: »

Also if your pay was short, how soon would you have informed the payroll department - probably the same day or next?

If the OP has ever queried being underpaid then that will be proof that they do, in fact, check their payslips so would be expected to have discovered this error..

JCS1

Tell employer

Happened to me once, and I let manager know (and it was then corrected on next month pay)

In my view, it also showed manager that I was honest and trustworthy

TBagpuss

Tell employer

Pajaro wrote: »

There is no way you could get sacked for gross misconduct by keeping quiet as they would have to prove you knew you got paid too much.
Unless it says travel expenses * 2 on your pay slip no employment tribunal would take the employers side.

Er, you do know that they don't have to prove it?

They have to have investigated properly, and to have a reasonable belief that the person committed the misconduct
And an employment tribunal isn't supposed to try to decide guilt or innocence, or to decide whether they might have decided differently, they just look at whether the process was fair, and the employers decision was within the range of reasonable outcomes.

Jonathan_Kelvin

Tell employer

Pajaro wrote: »

There is no way you could get sacked for gross misconduct by keeping quiet as they would have to prove you knew you got paid too much.
Unless it says travel expenses * 2 on your pay slip no employment tribunal would take the employers side.

This isn’t right, it’s not a court of law, and they don’t need to prove anything.

Having a chance at tribunal will be scant consolation to the OP while they are getting by without a wage, hoping to get lucky.

Jonathan_Kelvin

Tell employer

spadoosh wrote: »

Anyone got a real world example of someone being sacked because they didnt inform their employer that they had mistakenly overpaid the employee? Or you all just being indignant and virtuous?

It’s strange how some people seem to think that calling someone virtuous is a put-down nowadays.

ToxicWomble

OP - if they had underpaid you then you would want your money wouldn’t you ??

If they have overpaid you then they will want their money back.

Can’t believe you actually posted your question.

Dox

Why on earth does anyone need to post a question like this when the answer is so obvious to any person with a normal moral compass?

spadoosh

Jonathan_Kelvin wrote: »

It’s strange how some people seem to think that calling someone virtuous is a put-down nowadays.

Being virtuous isnt a put down, portraying being virtuous and getting called out on it probably is though.

I do payroll for about 80 people every 4 weeks. Been doing it for about 10 years. Every 4 weeks ill get a few comments about being underpaid (not signed in, not monitored properly etc etc). So out of the 10400 or so payments to people that ive made, ive never ever overpaid someone? Now i know i have overpaid them, i like my bookkeeping and old school to the extreme, i account for the pennies. So inevitably always find every single mistake, never had one person come forward though, 10400 payments, upto a couple of hundred underpayments, but not a single overpayment comign forward. Yup a few of them have got overpaid twice too. They where never ever going to be sacked for it.

Im told fairly often i live on a different planet, there appears to be two, one that people walk about on, which is where i live, and some fantastical world that people talk about, one ive never been able to find. Theres a load of 'virtuous' people hanging out there though. Talking and not walking.

getmore4less

Earnshp wrote: »

I’ve just received my first payslip since my (less than inflation) pay rise and I’m getting more than expected. From my calculations they have paid my travel allowance twice. My employer has done this before, I didn’t realise at the time, but it was discovered a year later, I wasn’t required to pay the £800 extra back, but after the changes my net salary decreased despite a small pay rise. Should I tell my employer (a successful financial investment company) and lose approx. £100 a month or wait for them to discover the error and hope they don’t insist on recompense? Without the error my pay increase will be £25 a month, and just to clarify I am paying the correct tax/NI for the amount earned.

One key point here is it is not the first time.

Any attempt to pretend you did not notice should not be taken seriously.

It is part of your responsibility to ensure you are paid correctly.

spadoosh

getmore4less wrote: »

One key point here is it is not the first time.

Any attempt to pretend you did not notice should not be taken seriously.

It is part of your responsibility to ensure you are paid correctly.

Im not sure of the relevance, if the employer had enacted their responsibility of ensuring employess are paid correctly the OP wouldnt be in this position. I dont think the company could really say that with any face.

Someone needs to notice a mistake has been made, there is no requirement for it to be the OP. Its that simple. The employer would be stupid to pursue dismissing the OP. The fact is they need to sort out the person in payroll who keeps overpaying people.

I can see the board meeting.

Director: weve got a problem, we keep having to sack people because theyre not telling us that were overpaying them
Operations director: Whos responsible for ensuring they are paid correctly?
Finance director: erhh.... they are?