Furlough overpayment

samanderson1983

Hi I just wondered if anyone could give me some advice. I work for an agency paid by an umbrella company. I received a backdated furlough payment 6 weeks ago and was due another one this week. They have now contacted me and advised me that I have been overpaid on my furlough payment by £1039 and this will be paid back by taking it out of my payments until it’s recouped. This means I won’t receive anything for the next few months. They took 8 weeks working out what I was due to be paid and then they make a huge mistake. Is this correct and can they do this? I don’t think it’s correct as it’s based on £179 per week and I received £200 ish per week when working. I am receiving no other money and my husbands hours have been cut by more than half so this will push us into financial hardship. Please help 😞

Jeremy535897

Have they explained the reason why they believe that they have overpaid you?

Semple

If they took that long to figure out how much to pay you, and have then seemingly plucked a figure out of the air for how much they've overpaid you by, I would be asking for a breakdown of how they've come to the figure of how much to pay you on furlough and then go from there. 

Putting aside any miscalculations, if they have overpaid you, then I would suspect they're entitled to claim it back from you (just as they would for a normal salary). As they're having to pay you from company funds and then claim that back, if they've paid more than you're eligible for then that's costing them money. 

Grumpy_chap

If they have over-paid you, then you will need to pay back the extra.  It is fair to ask for the calculations.
In rough terms, you say you are paid £200 per week.  Furlough is 80% of that, so £160 per week.  If you were paid £180 per week, that is too much by £20 per week.  That does not add up to the £1,000 over-payment though as that would be 50 weeks at £20 per week.

mobilejo

How much was the first payment and what period did it cover?

samanderson1983

No I have asked them several times for a breakdown of how it’s been worked out and they keep repeating themselves and avoiding the question. It doesn’t make sense to me either and I can’t work out how they have come to that figure?? My first payment was a back payment for 10 weeks and I received £1792 not the £2039 they say they have paid me, this is the amount before tax. I then didn’t hear anything until this week and even received an email saying that I would receive my next payment this week. The next thing I get phone calls and emails saying that I have been overpaid and it will be taken from my future payments until it’s paid back, so won’t receive any payments til August and then it will be less again because of the change on furlough rules ☹️

Grumpy_chap

samanderson1983 said:

My first payment was a back payment for 10 weeks and I received £1792 not the £2039 they say they have paid me, this is the amount before tax. 

Are you saying the £2,039 is before deductions and £1,792 is the net you received?  This should be set out in a pay-slip in the normal manner and will help you to understand the payments.  

samanderson1983

It just says £2039 minus tax and national insurance left with £1792 that was paid out. I ve had more emails from them and they re not budging and I’m not going to get anywhere 😕

Jeremy535897

It sounds like they paid you 100% (£2,039 being 100% of £200ish a week for 10 weeks), rather than 80%, but that still only amounts to £400 gross.

Grumpy_chap

In addition to the £2k (gross) that the agency paid you, are there any other payments made, for example pension?
Just trying to look for anything that hints to closing the remaining £600 gap.