Overpaid Bonus - What would you have done?
Discussion
I get an annual bonus, nothing massive, just a few grand. Its made up of meeting personal targets and the company meeting theirs. Anyway company s
t the bed on revenue so we were only getting the personal bit.
Get my payslip and see they have paid me the full amount. I emailed HR and they said sorry it was a mistake and they will take back the difference next month. My colleague said I was an idiot as they are so useless no one would have ever noticed.
Would anyone have kept quiet?
t the bed on revenue so we were only getting the personal bit.Get my payslip and see they have paid me the full amount. I emailed HR and they said sorry it was a mistake and they will take back the difference next month. My colleague said I was an idiot as they are so useless no one would have ever noticed.
Would anyone have kept quiet?
Gary29 said:
I'd have probably done the same as you, although would've been tempted to plead ignorance if they ever picked up on it.
Depends how you value your company and your place within it.
Yeah, I rarely check my payslip. I only checked it this month to make sure they had indeed paid it. I could have pleaded ignorance later.Depends how you value your company and your place within it.
Full disclosure - my biggest worry was them realising next month and taking it back, me having already spent it :-)
Unless anything has changed recently, overpayment of salary and / or bonuses falls outside of the scope of employment law which means the company can recover the overpayment in whatever means they deem fit and at any time in the future. IIRC, any legal dispute is battled out under the legislation that governs 'unjust enrichment' or something like that.
Legally and perhaps morally, you've done the right thing.
In the real world, if a year end comes and goes and the overpayment wasn't spotted then it's unlikely it ever will be. Buying some premium bonds until such time as this situation is arrived at might have been what others would have done.
Legally and perhaps morally, you've done the right thing.
In the real world, if a year end comes and goes and the overpayment wasn't spotted then it's unlikely it ever will be. Buying some premium bonds until such time as this situation is arrived at might have been what others would have done.
I receive monthly commission and I've been mispaid three times in the last year.
Twice I was underpaid, receiving the previous month's commission for a second time rather than the correct month's commission which in those cases was higher. This month I was overpaid, receiving next month's commission a month early - Again, next month's commission happened to be higher than this month.
I flagged the over-payment the day after I got my payslip and had a chance to read it. The payroll administrator agreed with what the error was and just said they would "swap" the payments for the two months. Essentially I got my higher pay a month early and they'll pay this month's commission next month instead.
I can only hope that it helps them see me as trustworthy.
Twice I was underpaid, receiving the previous month's commission for a second time rather than the correct month's commission which in those cases was higher. This month I was overpaid, receiving next month's commission a month early - Again, next month's commission happened to be higher than this month.
I flagged the over-payment the day after I got my payslip and had a chance to read it. The payroll administrator agreed with what the error was and just said they would "swap" the payments for the two months. Essentially I got my higher pay a month early and they'll pay this month's commission next month instead.
I can only hope that it helps them see me as trustworthy.
rog007 said:
More importantly some might say; how’s the company looking for the next 12 months!?
Rubbish, already massively behind target for this year. CV polishing time almost. Thing is were a massive corporation, making loads of money. Just not as much as we said we would. Maybe we are crap at making money, or maybe we can't forecast for toffee.Sheepshanks said:
Scabutz said:
My colleague said I was an idiot as they are so useless no one would have ever noticed.
I guess it's just a mentality thing - some people breeze through life 'scamming' others at every opportunity.Currently expecting them to cock up taking it back. It was a complete balls up. I usually get X, I was told I was getting Y, I actually should have got Z and they ended up paying me X.
We do having a saying for our company. The Broken Coffee Machine - from bean to cup, we f
k up.
I work in an industry that requires a level of trust if I were to keep quiet and they found out it ruins the level of trust and can ruin my reputation.
I did once get paid more than the state payrise I got, I reported it straight away as a mistake, they stated that someone must have lodged a complaint on your behalf as the appeal came through and the board agreed to pay more money.
I said that I had lodged no such appeal and was ok with the pay rise I had, because of my sense of morals and contacting them straight away, they state I could keep the pay rise.
Happy result.
I did once get paid more than the state payrise I got, I reported it straight away as a mistake, they stated that someone must have lodged a complaint on your behalf as the appeal came through and the board agreed to pay more money.
I said that I had lodged no such appeal and was ok with the pay rise I had, because of my sense of morals and contacting them straight away, they state I could keep the pay rise.
Happy result.
Scabutz said:
Yeah, I rarely check my payslip.
OP - I work in Finance and oversee Payroll, I have done in my last 3 jobs. This isn’t aimed at you but in my experience roughly 99% of people contact us when they’ve been underpaid and approximately 90% of people feign ignorance when we contact them about an overpayment. It’s human nature.With regards to automatic recovery of overpayment the principle of estoppel MAY apply but normally the Employer can recover overpayment without written consent.
When I was 19 I was paid my bosses salary by accident one month, it was enough to buy a brand new car and was paid on a Friday......on Monday I went in to work and explained the shock to the boss but the payroll bird was there too. Boss was really appreciative that I had kept it quiet from my colleagues and the payroll lady went mental at me for making her look silly.
Many moons ago after the implementation of new payroll software during the first month on the new system the payroll got paid twice.
The fault was due to and accepted by the software vendor, however, my colleague responsible for payroll had to contact every employee to arrange repayment.
A few weeks later he was unexpectedly called into the Board meeting and asked by the CEO how many employees hadn't paid the money back...there was only one. Caught between a rock and a hard place under interrogation he had to name the one...it was the Finance Director (his boss) sat opposite him.
The fault was due to and accepted by the software vendor, however, my colleague responsible for payroll had to contact every employee to arrange repayment.
A few weeks later he was unexpectedly called into the Board meeting and asked by the CEO how many employees hadn't paid the money back...there was only one. Caught between a rock and a hard place under interrogation he had to name the one...it was the Finance Director (his boss) sat opposite him.
CaptainSlow said:
Many moons ago after the implementation of new payroll software during the first month on the new system the payroll got paid twice.
The fault was due to and accepted by the software vendor, however, my colleague responsible for payroll had to contact every employee to arrange repayment.
A few weeks later he was unexpectedly called into the Board meeting and asked by the CEO how many employees hadn't paid the money back...there was only one. Caught between a rock and a hard place under interrogation he had to name the one...it was the Finance Director (his boss) sat opposite him.
BOOMThe fault was due to and accepted by the software vendor, however, my colleague responsible for payroll had to contact every employee to arrange repayment.
A few weeks later he was unexpectedly called into the Board meeting and asked by the CEO how many employees hadn't paid the money back...there was only one. Caught between a rock and a hard place under interrogation he had to name the one...it was the Finance Director (his boss) sat opposite him.
Scabutz said:
...
Would anyone have kept quiet?
Sort of Would anyone have kept quiet?
It happened at 1 employer once. Several of us had been overpaid our bonus. All varying amounts. I was a few hundred, few were nearer a grand. I was happy to keep quiet, but it leaked out.
My nearby colleague flagged it straight away.
Manager then asked me
"Are you happy with your pay?"
To which I, of course, being very honest say "Yes, I am happy with my pay"
So he left and then goes and asks everyone else. More people admit to being overpaid.
He passes by me on his way back to his office. "Have you been overpaid?"
So I reply, quite honestly "Yes I have"
They deducted the overspend at the next pay point.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff