Overpaid

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

Not me , but one of my very good mates I worked with has received a letter from company saying he’s been overpaid by £700 ish , and they’ve said he can repay this over 6 months , they’ve deducted the first repayment this month .

Now he disputes this overpayment is correct , and he was hoping to see payroll about it last Thursday

My understanding is you can’t deduct money from employees wages without the agreement of the employee , is that right ? And I’d of certainly thought not until the employee / payroll had a discussion over whether this overpayment was correct or not .

2

Claiming back an overpayment, is not the same as deducting due wages.

Here is ACAS.
"Handling overpayments
In most circumstances an employer has the right to claim back money if they’ve overpaid someone. They should contact the employee as soon as they’re aware of the mistake.

If an employee notices an overpayment in their payslip, they should talk to their employer as soon as possible.

Agree how the money is paid back
An employer should not deduct money from their employee’s wages without letting them know.

The employer should talk to the employee first and agree how the money will be paid back.

For example, if the employer recently made a simple overpayment, they could let the employee know that they’ll deduct it from their next wages. They could also agree to pay the money back a different way, for example by bank transfer.

If the overpayment was a large amount or over a long period of time, an employer should:

be flexible and fair claiming the money back
agree a repayment plan – this can help the employee manage their finances"
All above from Handling overpayments - Deductions from pay and wages - Acas.

It would seem sensible for them to talk and explain where the over payment was made, but if it is an overpayment they can claim it back, no argument.

3

I see there is no mention there of getting the agreement of the worker that an over payment has, in fact, been made.

Unless it was a diamond of a job my inclination if I didn’t agree would be to walk away. No more wages, no deductions.

4

I think the driver has made a RDV with the wages section?

If the driver walks away then I would bet the overpayment would be taken in one lump from his last pay packet.

5

Yes perhaps, but I was addressing myself more towards the points you made about the general situation, rather than the OP.

As far as he is concerned, if it was me, I would wait until the maximum of wages had been paid and then stick 2 fingers up to them. Unless of course, it is glaringly obvious to him that he has been paid too much, but without going back and reading it all again I am not sure about that,