Employment Overpayment? Advice

[jonn]

I applied for a job last year for ManPower agency, i got the job. Started the first day and realised the job wasnt for me so i quit. I recieved 3 months payments from them but, I didnt sign a contract to work for them. To my knowlege most companys have something about overpayments policy in their contract but since i didnt sign one would i still be liable to pay the money back?

Thanks in advance for your advice

[SarEl]

Yes. You took the money. You knew you weren't entitled to it. You didn't think you were entitled to it. When they come after you it will have to be repaid. And they have six years to come after you.

[Russe11]

I doubt they will come after you, nothing will show on their system that they have overpaid if the client paid the invoice, they will of passed the costs onto the client, the client will of paid the agency and the agency will of earnt their fee.

 

So if you own up to the overpayment do you think Manpower will contact the client and say hang on we never did actually supply you with this worker therefore here is your money back! I know the answer.

[SarEl]

Possibly - but that doesn't change the advice. I didn't suggest owning up. That is a moral issue. But the legal issue is unchanged.

[jonn]

Thats the bad thing, they have contacted me asking for the money and i dont have it. Times have been hard these past few months as i have been made redundant from my second job and im not sure what to do, do you have any advice on what to do next?

[SarEl]

Ah it would have helped if you had said that in the first place. Is this the time to say that I can be blunt? So no offense here, but you took that money knowing full well that you were not entitled to it and made no attempt to return it. Yes, I know it's tempting when you have no money, but it doesn't help you one bit. You cannot claim that there was no way you could have known that you got three months wages for a job you quit after a day! So I am afraid that there is no escape in now saying you can't afford to pay it back. You need to respond to them, explain the circumstances you are in, and ask them if they will take reasonable installments - and make an offer of whatever you can afford. And it will need to be a reasonable offer - not an offer after you have paid for everything you want to spend your money on. If they refuse they can take you to court, and this will only increase the amount you owe, so settling this amicably is best for you. If they did take it to court then the court would only insist on installments you could afford - but it may be more than you would "like", so there is no benefit to you and a lot of good reasons not to end up in court over this.

[elpulpo]

Is this just a civil matter, SE? No chance it could escalate into a criminal allegation? Seems 'very naughty'.

[SarEl]

Is this just a civil matter, SE? No chance it could escalate into a criminal allegation? Seems 'very naughty'.

 

As far as I can see it is a civil matter. It would only become criminal if the OP actually did something that caused them to be paid - like submitting a false timesheet. It does seem exceedingly odd that an agency like this pay out without any timesheets or other evidence that the client has actually had the work done, since most agencies have pretty meticulous methods of claiming pay. But provided the OP did nothing but recieve and keep the money, then it is a simple matter of overpayment and a civil claim. It's kind of immoral, but as I said, when people have bills and no work, whilst I cannot condone dishonesty, I can understand it. None of us know what we would do in the same situation - we might hope we would confess and return the money, but most of us are lucky enough never to have faced the decision.