16 Year old Overpaid and left company

Halfie · 12 June 2019 at 7:17PM

I have asked him to get a copy of the days and times worked from his (ex) employer so we can review where the overpayment came from.

He genuinely doesn't have any income at all in the form of pocket money from me (as he makes choices on how to spend money that I don't agree with) and the parent he lives with is not in a financial situation to do so (5 kids at home, and can't afford to give them all pocket money so everyone gets nothing).

There's some other issues that might be arising in terms of him being a child worker which I need to look into further - if correct it may be the contract has been breached (or wasn't ever legally binding) from the company's side prior to this. If that's the case, said 16 year old will be paying me £300 on the belief I've paid back the overpayment so he sees the consequnces of such things and learns the hard way to check his wages religiously! (Of course this will go into savings for him for when he's a bit more responsible!)

getmore4less · 12 June 2019 at 7:27PM

What are the details time hours etc. that resulted in this over payment?

£300 is quite a lot to account for on wrong rate or hours.

Have they been getting their proper holiday pay allowance?

A company that can mess up pay that bad might not get holiday right.

Edit:seems you are on the case, x-post

HMRC. May be interested in employment breaches.

Halfie · 12 June 2019 at 8:25PM

getmore4less wrote: »

HMRC. May be interested in employment breaches.

It’s not in relation to pay but the industry and hours of work which go against the legislation relating to child workers (as he’s still of school age). Any ideas on who might be interested in that?

getmore4less · 12 June 2019 at 8:44PM

Halfie wrote: »

It’s not in relation to pay but the industry and hours of work which go against the legislation relating to child workers (as he’s still of school age). Any ideas on who might be interested in that?

start with the local council child employment licence.

Halfie · 12 June 2019 at 8:47PM

getmore4less wrote: »

start with the local council child employment licence.

Thanks. Their number is in my phone to call tomorrow

ACG · 12 June 2019 at 9:54PM

I was under the impression that contracts are not legally binding on a minor.

He has not stolen the money, so he could not be done for theft.

I would be very surprised if this went any further if he did not pay it back. But in saying that, even at a pound a month, if he has no income how would he pay it back?

Is he part of the student union? It might be worth speaking to them. If not maybe Citizens advice.

steampowered · 12 June 2019 at 11:25PM

This sounds like quite a big overpayment given the number of hours he was doing.

The first thing your son needs to do is to closely look at his payslips to understand whether there has actually been an overpayment. Don't just take the employer's word for it. He should check whether he has been properly credited for all the hours he worked and any holiday pay accrued.

I think we need to know how this happened to comment further.

I also would be very surprised if the employer takes it further.

If your son wants to fight this a bit, he could ask the employer to explain how and why they made such a serious mistake, and point out that this puts him in an impossible position financially, and to prove that there has been an overpayment (e.g. by providing full time sheet records so your son can check he has been properly credited).

SpiderLegs · 13 June 2019 at 6:42AM

Does your son understand that his next employer may require a reference from this one?

Does he understand that failing to pay back debts is not the kind of behaviour that is conducive to getting future credit?

Personally I wouldn’t want my child to start out his adult life with a view that he could act like this. Things like this have a nasty habit of biting people on the !!!! long after they think are forgotten about.

warby68 · 13 June 2019 at 6:51AM

For a 16 year old I wouldn't want his 'mistakes' to count against him long term in the wider world so probably would be paying on his behalf once the correct amount is proven.

He would however be paying me back, even if payback comes in the form of no Birthday or Christmas gifts, reduced phone tariff and cancelled treats - whatever 'luxuries' you currently provide as one parent.

Not sure why he can't get another temporary job over the summer though?

Halfie · 13 June 2019 at 6:56AM

SpiderLegs wrote: »

Does your son understand that his next employer may require a reference from this one?

Does he understand that failing to pay back debts is not the kind of behaviour that is conducive to getting future credit?

Personally I wouldn’t want my child to start out his adult life with a view that he could act like this. Things like this have a nasty habit of biting people on the !!!! long after they think are forgotten about.

At what point have I said that he’s not responsible for paying this back or that he won’t be? And I’m not sure what you mean by “act like this”. Act like what exactly? Like a 16 year old child who doesn’t know how to deal with this so has asked his parent to help (and has been told multiple times he’s responsible for this issue and will have to pay it back).

16 Year old Overpaid and left company

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