Old job paying me wages when I’ve left company ..universal credit affected.

slou33

I started a job and had to leave and was owed for 1 days training.
My mental health is a mess and I made a claim for universal credit and have been providing fit notes.
My old employer paid me £385 when I was only entitled to 1 day paid work.
I contacted payroll and never heard anything back.
My universal credit was reduced by £240.

Last Week they paid my £1,300 for a full months wages.
I have emailed payroll 10 times and asked them how I pay this back as they have made a mistake..no reply.
I have rang HR multiple times and told to email Payroll.
My universal credit will be zero because of this and obviously I will have to pay back the £1,300 and I will have nothing because of their error.
I honestly don’t know what to do.
I just want to pay the money back and have them update the true info with HMRC 

what can I do ?
im terrified I will get into trouble
I’ve got copies of all emails I’ve sent.

slou33

I have managed to get in touch with Old employer 
thanked me for my honestly and gave me bank details to pay it back .
will this still effect my April payment ?
will they update the HMRC records straight away ?
can anyone please advise 
I’m worried sick 

pmlindyloo

slou33 said:

I have managed to get in touch with Old employer 
thanked me for my honestly and gave me bank details to pay it back .
will this still effect my April payment ?
will they update the HMRC records straight away ?
can anyone please advise 
I’m worried sick 

Here is a link which may help:

RTI Error - Universal Credit Essentials (uceplus.co.uk)

It seems that your employer needs to report this to HMRC and declare the error.

You also need to contact UC and ask them to raise an RTI dispute.

Hopefully you will get the back pay.

Someone else may have personal experience of such a situation but, in the meantime, read the link and start the process.

An alternative route would be to write on your journal about this and ask for advice about correcting this error.

slou33

I have spoke with employer who said they can’t report to HMRC till 30th April but they are asking for the money paid back tomorrow.
My Assesment period is between now and 22nd April so I will receive a payment of £0.00
for April because employer won’t amend HMRC records till end of the month.

So my next universal credit payment won’t be till the 29th may.
How do I pay rent and eat ?
Do I wait and pay back employer after they’ve amended their error ?

NedS

Once the employer has reported the earnings to HMRC, I don't think they can take it back, I don't think it's possible to alter or adjust a previous entry - it is their responsibility to report accurately and on time what they have paid you, and they did that. You paying it back has caused the issue.

I would expect UC to receive the report that you have received the pay and to take that into account on your UC payment. You will need to wait until you receive your UC payment and then contact your Case Manager on your journal and ask them to raise an RTI dispute on your behalf. You will need to explain what has happened (keep any evidence you may have, communications with your employer where it was agreed you would repay the overpayment, copies of bank statements showing the transaction etc). DWP will then contact HMRC who will speak with the employer to try to confirm what has happened, and will report back to DWP. If the employer confirms your account to HMRC then DWP should be able to ignore the repaid earnings and adjust your UC payment.

calcotti

NedS said:

Once the employer has reported the earnings to HMRC, I don't think they can take it back, I don't think it's possible to alter or adjust a previous entry - it is their responsibility to report accurately and on time what they have paid you, and they did that. 

I think they can (and should).
https://www.gov.uk/payroll-errors/correcting-your-fps-or-eps

OP, when you agreed to pay them back did your ex employer agree to correct the information they provided to HMRC?

sheramber

calcotti said:

NedS said:

Once the employer has reported the earnings to HMRC, I don't think they can take it back, I don't think it's possible to alter or adjust a previous entry - it is their responsibility to report accurately and on time what they have paid you, and they did that. 

I think they can (and should).
https://www.gov.uk/payroll-errors/correcting-your-fps-or-eps

OP, when you agreed to pay them back did your ex employer agree to correct the information they provided to HMRC?

I have spoke with employer who said they can’t report to HMRC till 30th April but they are asking for the money paid back tomorrow.

slou33

My old job said they would update the records with HMRC but not till end of April when inputting details of all employees 
That’s no good to me tho as a dispute can take 3 weeks and I would have zero money.

I really don’t know what to do
i don’t know whether To say I will pay you back after your give HMRC correct details 

seatbeltnoob

Don't return the money back just yet. Tell them you will return the money after they have amended the RTI. You will return the money after they have done the necessary changes.

If you give up the money to them, they have no incentive to fix the RTI for you. Fix first, wait for p45 from them at year end, then return the money to them then.

Do an RTI dispute as NedS suggested.

NedS

calcotti said:

NedS said:

Once the employer has reported the earnings to HMRC, I don't think they can take it back, I don't think it's possible to alter or adjust a previous entry - it is their responsibility to report accurately and on time what they have paid you, and they did that. 

I think they can (and should).
https://www.gov.uk/payroll-errors/correcting-your-fps-or-eps

You may be correct, I'm by no means an expert on this. In my somewhat limited experience, I've only once seen an employer try to correct mis-reported earnings. The employer mistakenly reported double the amount of earnings (£1500 instead of £750), and then subsequently put through a minus amount for half (minus £750 refund) on RTI in an attempt to correct it. For UC purposes, the system just considered the original report of double earnings and completely ignored the attempted correction as it was a negative amount and essentially only corrected the pay to date figure for the tax year. UC still saw the £1500 double pay for the month and that is what was taken into consideration.

The employer may be able to try to correct the information on HMRC systems, but I think the original report of earnings can not be undone and once the UC system sees it on the RTI feed it is taken into consideration as received. Others may have more in depth knowledge of how the system works than me.

In terms of getting it fixed on UC, an RTI dispute is the way to go

calcotti

NedS said: The employer may be able to try to correct the information on HMRC systems, but I think the original report of earnings can not be undone and once the UC system sees it on the RTI feed it is taken into consideration as received. Others may have more in depth knowledge of how the system works than me.

In terms of getting it fixed on UC, an RTI dispute is the way to go

I agree with that. Getting the 'right' outcome for the RTI dispute is more likely if the employer corrects the HMRC record.