Overpayment issue - racist treating by an employer

Igor2155

Hello,

Please read carefully, and please give me any good advices, how we can solve this problem.


Friend of mine is working around 5 years as a cleaner, she was on sick leave around 1.5 year, after when she came back to work, the employer changed her schedule and also he added more job to do, he feels really discriminated, because hes very good person, reliable, honest VERY hard working. He took another irish cleaner and its clearly visible that the job is not hard as job of my friend. (less duties, less cleaning).

This is the first issue, now the second:

For around one year he was on ''overpayment'' however that wasn't he's fault (even the same employer admitted that is NOT HES FAULT BUT THE SALARY DEPARTMENT OFFICE).

He's payslip was not like ''warning you are on overpayment'', it had just more money and he thought this is the raise for after 5 years of really really hard work.

Now he have to pay off the whole debt which is 15k (ye really.) So the salary department will take away 300 euro from each his salary per month - my question is - is that really necessary and its okay for law.

Like I said, (my friend) he clearly sees that all the debt money that they took away to cover the debt are going to not really necessary stuff and goods for school - for example um.....holidays...for employers.

SCOOP 64

Get your friend to go and see Citizens Advice, they will be able to guide him as to what action he get take.

Mrs OBumble

SCOOP 64 wrote: »

Get your friend to go and see Citizens Advice, they will be able to guide him as to what action he get take.

Good advice here.

The official title is Citizen's Information in Ireland - look up the local office in the Find a Centre tab here: http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/


In short, if it's a genuine overpayment, your friend will have to pay it back. But 300 per month sounds very high.

endacl

Your friend is in a good position here op. I was in a similar position some time ago.

(A) The employer is entitled to recoup the overpayment, but

(B) it can only be recouped at a rate that would be considered 'fair and reasonable'. Your friend and his employer can discuss what 'fair and reasonable' means. Now, the interesting part is...

(C) the employer may not make non-scheduled deductions, such as in the case of repaying an overpayment, without the permission of the employee. This of course means that your friend, because if the relatively large sum involved, is actually in a strong position to negotiate the rate of repayment. He won't be fired as long as he owes the company 15k, because realistically, although he would still owe it, he wouldn't be in a position to repay it. They'd have to write it off. The added bonus to your friend is that his job will be safe for as long as he owes such a large sum. The flip side of this though, is that if he chooses to leave employment in the future, he will be obliged to repay the balance.

I negotiated a request to pay back an overpayment from >€500 per month down do €25 per month. It can certainly be done. Tell your friend to remain calm, be polite and reasonable, dig his heels in, and GET EVERYTHING FROM THIS POINT ON IN WRITING. No communication regarding the overpayment/repayment by chat or by phone. Email only. No exceptions.

Igor2155

Great advices thank you !, unfortunately he spoke with employer and he said he will pay 100 euro every month, BUT EMPLOYER DID NOT AGREE and he said that this will take 20 years or even more to pay off and this is impossible...

endacl

Igor2155 wrote: »

Great advices thank you !, unfortunately he spoke with employer and he said he will pay 100 euro every month, BUT EMPLOYER DID NOT AGREE and he said that this will take 20 years or even more to pay off and this is impossible...

It was the employer's mistake. No matter what the employer argues, this one fact is important. The employer made a mistake that put your friend in the the position of having to repay. Your friend works as a cleaner. His employer pays him as a cleaner, and knows exactly what a cleaner gets paid, and what €100pm would be as a proportion of his take home pay.

Dig those heels in, and do everything by email from here on.