Contractual Hours Question

[Slaav]

craigjm said:

Slaav said:

craigjm said:

Their mistake but they are entitled to claim it back but you could offer to pay something tiny like a £1 a week. They cant discipline you unless they can show that you knowingly took the money without saying anything and proving that would be very difficult

WIth all the usual caveats, this comes across as nonsense - sorry - IMHO!

YOu were employed as I understand things; they set your schedule - not you - you were presumably supervised to a degree, and they suddenly realise that they, your boss, or supervisor has been a numpty!

No way they can reclaim money from you if this is true - need more details and some extra common sense around me thinks?

and you base that assertion on what employment law qualification / experience?

Nicely put and in the manner that has become most common on many threads!

To answer your question, I gave my opinion as an 'employer' and not as a lawyer! Thought my opening was reasonably broad to encompass most snide remarks?

For the avoidance of doubt:

"with all the usual caveats... IMHO"

I may have even put a smiley in there somewhere?

The following post seems to imply I may be correct? They cannot simply enforce a deduction or 'demand' it back?

Oh well.... WIll wander off and play somewhere else with nice children

[slipstream 1985]

K77 CTR said:

I have worked for the same company for 6 years on a fixed rota. I am contracted to 37.5 hours a week and was on a 5 week rota. The rota consists of 4 weeks at 37.5 hours and 1 week at 28.5 hours. I have never thought much of it, thinking that it must equal itself out somewhere over the years.

Now they are questioning why I am a shift down every 5 weeks, where do I stand? Can they claim this time/ money back as they are the ones giving me that rota?

you get paid 1856 hours per year
or an average 154.7 hours per month.
or an average of 35.7 hours per week.

if that is correct then your current situation is fine its just the way your working (5 weekly period) works out. 37.5,37.5, 37.5, 37.5 and a 28.5

if you are being paid
1950 hours per year
an average 162.5 hours per month
an average of 37.5 hours per week then you are not working the full ammount they think you are.

[Magic919]

Kevin VRs said:

Magic919 said:

Six years of that ought to be grounds for dismissal.

Since the company asked him to do those hours why would it be grounds for dismissal?

Much as it's simpler to suggest I was only kidding about, here's my suggested scenario. You work shifts, not days, and the standard shift is 9 and a bit hours. You work 4 in a week and hit 37.5 hours. For the 5th week you just turn up for 3 shifts. And you never query this.

What responsibility falls on the individual here? Do we just accept it's the company's error. Is it a victimless crime?

Look at the MPs and their expenses. It only mattered as it wasn't some big corporate entity. It was public funds being pinched. What if the OP is funded by our taxes? Does that change anything?

I think it's interesting to see how right and wrong can be such a grey area.

[Countdown]

craigjm said:

Exactly they ARE entitled to claim it back but cannot do it without permission as this would be an unlawful deduction from wages. They would therefore have to come to a repayment arrangement.

Sorry to be pedantic but they would not "HAVE" to come to any repayment arrangement. Where an employee is led to believe that the money he is being paid is correct there is no obligation to repay. For example an employee is overpaid £10pw for 20 years can logically assume that is his correct pay. OTOH if his pay packet increased by £5k without a reasonable explanation the employer could rightfully withhold pay / deduct pay without the employees agreement (although the employer should provide an explanation/breakdown of the overpayment and ideally come to a mutually acceptable repayment arrangement)

Two different situations; to me this looks like example 1 and therefore no obligation or legal requirement on OP to repay.

[Countdown]

Magic919 said:

What responsibility falls on the individual here? Do we just accept it's the company's error. Is it a victimless crime?

Couple of things; firstly doing Rotas for shiftwork can be a bu66er at best of times. It's not surprising these kinds of errors occur. That is one of the reasons supervisors/managers are employed. Having said that IME if the anomaly had been in the Employers favour I guarantee the employee would have identified it in Week 1.