Overpaid job seekers and now being fined

Techbe

Hello all,

Before covid my dad was made redundant after 30 years he got a job offer two days prior to lockdown and the job was unfortunately pulled due to covid. He found himself in the same situation again with another job a few months later. He decided in June to apply for JSA which he got. In august he started employment at a new role, less than his previous job and with a serious commute. He advised this job he was on job seekers and how does he go about stopping it in which he was advised they’d automatically know when he started paying tax. In the mix of all of this 3 months later he discovered the payments hadn’t stopped and informed them by phone he was in fact working and from what date. He fully expected to pay back the amount and was told to await a later. The later turned up last week with a £50 fine for not telling them. 

Is there a way he can appeal the fine? Considering he’s paying the £845 back in full and he actually contacted them when he realised. 

Nobody is our family has ever been on JSA and wasn’t aware of the logistics of it all.

Thank you 

powerful_Rogue

Techbe said:

Hello all,

Before covid my dad was made redundant after 30 years he got a job offer two days prior to lockdown and the job was unfortunately pulled due to covid. He found himself in the same situation again with another job a few months later. He decided in June to apply for JSA which he got. In august he started employment at a new role, less than his previous job and with a serious commute. He advised this job he was on job seekers and how does he go about stopping it in which he was advised they’d automatically know when he started paying tax. In the mix of all of this 3 months later he discovered the payments hadn’t stopped and informed them by phone he was in fact working and from what date. He fully expected to pay back the amount and was told to await a later. The later turned up last week with a £50 fine for not telling them. 

Is there a way he can appeal the fine? Considering he’s paying the £845 back in full and he actually contacted them when he realised. 

Nobody is our family has ever been on JSA and wasn’t aware of the logistics of it all.

Thank you 

I very much doubt it. One of the conditions made clear when claiming is that you must notify them of any change in circumstances.

calcotti

There is no harm in asking.

tomtom256

No as it's a civil penalty and not appealable.

Your dad would have been told he had to report changes to the DWP. Not sure why he would ask his employer and not the DWP who where paying the benefit to him.

Robbie64

According to the DMG the decision to impose a civil penalty is appealable though the amount of the civil penalty can't be appealed:

Right of appeal
09451 The decision to impose a CPen will be made at the same time as the overpayment decision. The
amount of the CPen will be added to the amount of the recoverable overpayment. This will produce an
outcome decision1 and will give appeal rights to any part of that outcome decision including the
overpayment, the CPen or both. There is no right of appeal against the amount of a CPen2

GeordieGeorge

I agree with the posters above who say that it’s his responsibility to inform the DWP of any changes. His company aren’t the people paying the benefits, and there’s no reason that they should have any expertise in it. It’s unfortunate that someone there in trying to help gave him the wrong information, but that’s not going to alter things.

Techbe

Thank you guys for the responses, he’s going to try anyway as he proof he did tell him when he realised. As stated in the original comment he’s never claimed it before due to always working and beloved HR when he asked them did he need to tell DWP and they said no. Probably an expense lesson to learn.

My friend works in HR and said HR should of known the correct information to advise and it’s basic HR knowledge particularly during covid.

Puddings

Definitely not 'basic HR knowledge' to understand how the benefits system works and nothing to do with covid although they really have shouldn't tried to advise on this subject and instead pointed the employee in the direction of an organisation that could advise properly e.g. CAB, any EAP they have or direct to DWP. 

GeordieGeorge

Techbe said:

My friend works in HR and said HR should of known the correct information to advise and it’s basic HR knowledge particularly during covid.

It really isn’t. HR are nothing to do with benefits. I’d be stunned if any of mine knew the first thing about it, and they’d definitely not try to give advice.

[Deleted User]

@Techbe - do query it - I'm also thinking why did they continue to pay out if there was no appointments with JC happening or met, surely you would get sanctioned for not complying (a quick skim looks likes new style jobseekers is UC with a few differences) sorry I don't know much about jobseekers as it has been UC for me for quite some time. but someone should have picked up when appointments were going as missed or not attended? (or am I soooo out of date) it's quite a failing in their online system and man-management if it pays out to people, knowingly not engaging. 

It does make you wonder what happens if people aren't computer literate?

I can understand why some kind sole at the new Employers might have said what they did, ah if only they added make the jobcentre aware, I know when I alerted JC that I was starting my first day back working full time in April this year, they ironically said, OK the feeds will be now set up with HMRC so we get to see when you are paid, leave it to the feeds kind of thing when I said on my first day I cannot complete the take home pay being more then weeks from when that was going to happen, on a wage slip I wouldn't receive for well over a month.

TELLIT01

GeordieGeorge said:

Techbe said:

My friend works in HR and said HR should of known the correct information to advise and it’s basic HR knowledge particularly during covid.

It really isn’t. HR are nothing to do with benefits. I’d be stunned if any of mine knew the first thing about it, and they’d definitely not try to give advice.

Surely HR should know enough to be able to say that they do not inform DWP.  Not giving any information is one thing, telling somebody the wrong thing is another.  Sadly, my experience of HR during my working life means I'm not particularly surprised by the story of the OP's father.