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So my old employer contacted me recently and said they had accidentally paid me for the month after I had left. I checked my accounts and this is true - they paid me for the full month rather than just the week they owed me.

However in the process of finding this I went through all of the payments they made to me and noticed they seem to have underpaid me for my first two months and week of work.

Overall it would still work out I owe them - but not the full month worth of money they are probably going to ask back. I'm just wondering where I legally stand on this, can I rightfully ask they take into account what they owe me and not take back the full month (minus 1 week) worth of money? Is this something I can negotiate with them or do I need to get a lawyer?

Thanks.

throwaway13577531123
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2 Answers2

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There is probably no harm in trying to negotiate it with them by explaining the issue to them (ideally in writing with attachments to back it up). If no agreement can be reached, a lawyer might make sense, but given the relatively low stakes, a lawyer's fees could exhaust much of the amount in dispute and if you didn't prevail that would be particularly disappointing.

ohwilleke
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Assuming the amount in dispute is less than £10,000 then this would be handled by the Small Claims Track of the County Court. Lightweight, low cost, and no lawyers required.

You can certainly ask that they take the old underpayment into account. Normally there is a 6 year limit on claiming back money. If the underpayment happened less than 6 years ago this is simple. If it was more than 6 years ago you couldn't take them to court for it. However thanks to the recent overpayment its not you who would be the plaintiff claiming the money; they would be suing you for it, and you would argue that they still owe you that money even though you could no longer have sued to reclaim it. I don't know how that would go.

Your best course, I suggest, would be to send them a calculation of what you think you owe, and say "If you accept that this is correct then let me know and I will pay you." Its then up to them to either accept and get the money, or try to argue that their old underpayment doesn't count. If the latter, and you stick to your guns, they can file a court claim for the money.

Assuming they don't dispute the facts about the old under-payment there will be no facts in dispute, just an argument about the law. Hence its quite possible that there won't be a hearing and the judge will simply review the written arguments from both sides and hand you a decision.

Paul Johnson
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