this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Depends on what's in the contract, black on white. If the contract says x amount and they pay you y (and you don't speak up), they can get that money back as it was a bookkeeping error.
If the contract says the higher amount then they can't take it back, written contract always wins over verbal.
Fair, but a contract can't overrule actual laws. I'm not sure what exactly those are or where OP lives but if the law says he'd be entitled to that money then a contract couldn't change anything.
I would think it's fairly obvious they are from the UK seeing as they are using the pound symbol for their money - and contracts for employment are king in the UK if I remember correctly
Still, I can't imagine a UK contract can override UK law. You couldn't get someone to sign a contract saying they're a slave and hold them to it. Contracts do not trump laws.
Correct, contracts dont trump laws and your extreme example would not fly in court because of it and because it would break humantarian laws and rights agreed upon in our countries.
That said, he speaks the truth. If a contract says you earn x and you earn x+20 euro, they can and will compensate for that 20 euro. Its perfectly legal and ive seen 2 euros go down from my pay because of book keeping errors. However, i assume the law has a margin for book keeping errors, and if not they can demand it back in court. You signed on it after all...
You do indeed remember correctly. This is a watertight case for the employee.
That's not how it works in both Germany and Austria. If you have a contract you get paid based on it, if there is a bookkeeping error you have to pay the money back if the company accidentally gives you too much.
The only contracts that are invalid are when the number is very obviously wrong in the context. For example the contract says instead of $50k a year you get paid $500k a year or $5k a year, then the entire thing is void as it's an obvious error.
If the contract says $55k and the company wanted to pay you $45k.. their problem, contract counts. Your boss might be pissed if you keep insisting on the $55k and might fire you, especially if you verbally agreed on $45k. But oh well, that's another topic.
Oh and in the UK? The employer is even allowed to deduct that money from your future wages. So much about knowing the law :)
Not where I live they can't. See my other comment. If your employer gives you money, it's yours, period.
I see this idea a lot online. Guess either employees don't understand their rights or the employers are equally ignorant, both VERY likely.
And no, it's unlikely the employer knows better and is fucking around. The magic words are "labor" and "board", who will find in favor of the employee and throw a fucking to the employer. We handled payroll for quite a few shady employers, but none of them were dumb enough to play around with the money.
That's not how it works in both Germany and Austria. If you have a contract you get paid based on it, if there is a bookkeeping error you have to pay the money back if the company accidentally gives you too much.
The only contracts that are invalid are when the number is very obviously wrong in the context. For example the contract says instead of $50k a year you get paid $500k a year or $5k a year, then the entire thing is void as it's an obvious error.
If the contract says $55k and the company wanted to pay you $45k.. their problem, contract counts. Your boss might be pissed if you keep insisting on the $55k and might fire you, especially if you verbally agreed on $45k. But oh well, that's another topic.
Oh and in the UK? The employer is even allowed to deduct that money from your future wages. So much about knowing the law :)
Looks like it's not quite that simple in the UK.
https://realemploymentlawadvice.co.uk/2021/01/28/can-my-employer-make-me-pay-back-overpaid-wages/
Yeah.. except for that tiny detail:
So if you signed a contract for a sum of x and the employer never said they are going to pay you more, you're already acting in bad faith based on the first point. The second point is tough to argue, literally the only way to win this is if you have a verbal "contract" only and claim you never watched your bank account and just didn't notice the extra money (but then if your employer tells you about the wrong payments you have an issue again..).
In the real world you'll probably pay the money back 99% of the time, except if you want to burn bridges and leave (going after you for smaller amounts is not worth the time in court). Your professional relationship will be ruined though, which you may or may not care about.