How can my employer make me pay back overpaid wages?

Clauses in your contract of employment Your contract of employment may include an expressed provision whereby you agree for your employer to make deductions from your wages to recover an overpayment if you are still an employee. If your contract permits your employer to recover the overpayment, then your employer will be able to rely on this.

What happens when an employer overpays an employee?

The employee promised to repay the overpayment and did not. The employee refuses to pay back the amount. The employer chooses to overlook the error and the employee keeps the payment. The overpayment was a matter of collusion between the employee and the employer and the employee does not give back the overpayment.

Can a deduction be made to get back an overpayment?

A deduction can be made to get back an overpayment if it’s allowed under a registered agreement (and the employee agrees to it), award, legislation or a court or Fair Work Commission order. An employer isn’t allowed to make an employee or prospective employee, spend their own money, or pay the employer (or someone else) money if:

What happens if my employer overpaid my vacation pay?

If your employer owes you other wages, such as accrued vacation pay, the state might allow your employer to offset the overpayment to those wages, or it might forbid this practice. In the latter case, or if you don’t have any more wages coming to you, your employer will likely contact you and ask you to return the money.

Can a company take the money back from an overpaid employee?

Yes, if you are overpaid, your employer has the legal right to take back the full amount. What happens if your employer accidentally overpays you? The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) gives legal rights to every company in the state to take back an overpayment from an employee, no matter the consequences. Can an ex-employer claim overpaid wages?

Can a employer reclaim the overpayment of wages?

If an employee has been overpaid, can the employer reclaim the overpayment? If the employer has overpaid an employee by mistake then the employer has the right to reclaim that money back. However, employees and workers are protected, under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, from any unlawful deductions from their wages.

What to do with an overpayment after termination?

As such, having identified an overpayment post-termination, the employer will need to request repayment from the employee. This should be done informally at first, albeit in writing. In the event that the employee refuses to repay the sum owed, it is open to the employer to take legal action against them.

What happens if an employer overpays an employee in California?

Even if the employer proves its case, that the worker was indeed overpaid, “under no circumstances can an employer reduce an employee’s wages below minimum wage here in California,” England says. So if you think that the National Guard horror story couldn’t happen to you, you might want to check up on your state’s labor laws.