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I left my old job on Friday 9th August. They made it clear to me I wasn't wanted.

They paid me a full month on the 23rd and I queried this by emailing them. Somebody from payroll said they'd get back to me.

A letter arrived stating they had overpaid me by £700 and they insisted the full amount is paid in full immediately. If I didn't respond to the letter, it would be referred to their solicitor.

However, I haven't received my P45 yet (I left three weeks ago) and I haven't had confirmation of my correct final wage.

I understand I will have to pay something back, but I'm owed holiday pay and the figure won't be £700.

How should I approach this? I've no problem paying them the money because it isn't mine, but I've no P45 or a correct figure for a final monthly wage.

Overall, the company has treated me shabbily throughout my time there. I'm inclined pay them something like £10 a month because of how the letter was worded.

I'm in the UK. Can somebody offer any advice on how best to approach and resolve this?

Thank you,

Lee.

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    In the UK, the Citizens' Advice Bureau offers excellent (and free) employment law advice. If you take along all the paperwork you have they should be able to help.
    – Laconic Droid
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 19:48
  • You can make the offer of £10 per month and if they took you to court the Judge may well accept that or something similar - especially if they are dragging their feet about sorting the P45 etc... Get to Citizens Advice and get them to deal with the employer, don't give away too much - stick out for all they owe you.
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 20:10
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    Paying £10 a month sounds like a good way to get them to botch the administration again. Only do this if you are really keen to stay in touch with the company.
    – P. Hopkinson
    Commented Aug 31, 2019 at 21:49
  • Did the claim you had been overpaid by £700 include a breakdown of that money? Do you have your own figures on how much you believe you are owed?
    – Comic Sans Seraphim
    Commented Sep 1, 2019 at 19:13

1 Answer 1

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In your case:

If they are threatening you with lawyers then you need proper legal advice. As suggested in the comments you can get free legal advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau.

In most cases:

If you have been overpaid then you are obliged to repay the employer (within your ability to do so).

However, it is entirely reasonable to ask for a complete and accurate breakdown of the figures before doing so. This could be in the form of a P45 or it could be a small spreadsheet or whatever.

The company got it wrong the first time around so it would be sensible to check their working before returning any money.

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    They have no choice but to give you the P45, it is a legal requirement, not something "reasonable"...
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Sep 1, 2019 at 6:56
  • There are other, very similar, scenarios which have an identical answer but where a P45 wouldn't come into play. For example, an employee could be overpaid while still working for their employer, perhaps due to maternity leave or a change in working patterns.
    – P. Hopkinson
    Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 20:05
  • As the OP made clear, he left the employer, so definitely NOT still working for them...
    – Solar Mike
    Commented Sep 2, 2019 at 20:07

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