Wages Help

[GRMGOLDIE]

Hello just posting to see if anyone can advise me.

I have opened my wages today and see that Royal Mail have started to deduct my wages as I have been wrongly paid shift allowance for a total of nearly nearly £4000. This has built up over the last 10 years. I do not dispute that I probably owe them this money but I have not been notified at all and just found my wages were down by about £100 this week. Surely I should have been told about this as this is not my mistake and also I had no idea that I was not owed this money. I cant find a contact number on my wage slip and my managers will be next to useless when I ask for a explanation. If anyone can give me some advice on what I do next I will be forever thankful

Cheer Garry

[blisterfeet]

To: All Branches with Postal Members
Dear Colleague
Royal Mail – Allowance Review
The purpose of this LTB is to update Branches on recent developments on the above mentioned subject.
Royal Mail has advised the Union of an Allowance Review that has been conducted over the last few months. Royal Mail has checked all allowances that are actually being paid against allowances that should be paid, for every employee.
The review has uncovered situations where some members have not been paid allowances they are due and others being paid allowances that they are not entitled to. There are also anomalies where local managers have agreed payments to be made and these payments are also being reviewed.
Royal Mail has informed the union that underpayments will be put right with back pay paid as appropriate. The allowances which have been deemed as ‘not entitled’ will cease to be paid week commencing 23rd February 2015 for Logistics Members.
This process will be followed for our members in the North, West and East territories over the next few weeks.
The review has revealed 2,600 members who have been overpaid and 380 underpaid. Ongoing National talks regarding the allowance review will continue. These are obviously going to be difficult discussions and until further communication is received from HQ, no member should be approached with a repayment plan to recover any monies. Any approaches that branches become aware of should immediately be reported to the DGS (P) Department.
In situations where Royal Mail has ceased payments of allowances and members believe that they are entitled to receive them, the union has agreed that CWU local representatives can discuss this matter and any disputes arising from these discussions should be referred to the DGS (P) Department
We will keep you updated with any further progress.
Any enquiries on the above LTB should be addressed to the DGS (P) Department.
Yours sincerely
Dave Ward
Deputy General Secretary (P)

[TrueBlueTerrier]

OVERPAYMENTS RECOVERY PROCEDURE

1. Objective

The objective of this procedure is to provide advice and guidance for processing of overpayment of wages and expenses cases.

2. Introduction

2.1 The process and procedure set out below will be followed in all cases of overpayments, recognising the legal right and commercial obligation of the Business to recover overpayments and the need to ensure it has a consistent, efficient and legal policy on the recovery of overpayments of wages.

2.2 It is Royal Mail’s policy to pay wages on time and correctly, and every effort should be made to eliminate the overpayment of pay occurring. However, it is the duty of every employee to notify the Business immediately if they become aware of an overpayment in their pay.

2.3 Royal Mail commits to dealing with overpayments in a reasonable and sensitive manner and with due regard for individual circumstances.

3. Process and Procedure

3.1 Where an overpayment is discovered the total amount of the overpayment should be calculated and the reasons for the error established and recorded.

3.2 As soon as an overpayment has been established, People and Organisational Services will notify the employee concerned. This notification will clearly detail the amount of the overpayment, the circumstances that have led to it and the options available for recovering the monies that have been overpaid. The individual should also be informed that advice can be obtained from their Union.

3.3 Where the process in Para 3.2 (detailed above) does not resolve the issue then the employee’s Line Manager will be informed of the overpayment together with the reasons that have led to it occurring, the amounts involved, and advised that they now need to meet with and discuss this issue with the employee concerned.


3.4 The Manager will arrange an interview with the employee concerned. The employee should be given prior notice of the interview and informed that should they wish, the local Union Representative may accompany them to the interview. A record of this interview should be kept by the line manager and copied to the employee.

3.5 The purpose of the interview is to establish all additional relevant facts and any mitigating/personal issues that need to be taken into account. Normally, the outcome of this meeting will be an agreement to repay the overpayment in full, over an appropriate and agreed timeframe. However, in limited circumstances, this interview may lead to agreement that some or all of the overpayment is waived and in extreme cases that the whole overpayment is waived. The MCM/DOM will be responsible for making any final decision on waiving some or all of the overpayment, after seeking advice from their RSM (Advice and Support).

In making the decision referred to above, the following should be considered:-

• whether the Employee notified the Business of the overpayment and, if so, what actions were taken by Management
• whether the overpayment continued for a substantial period of time
• the value of the overpayment in question
• the employee’s personal circumstances.

3.6 Royal Mails policy is to seek recovery of overpayments of pay by agreement, wherever possible. However, Royal Mail reserves its statutory right to deduct from salaries any monies owed. The CWU notes it is Royal Mail’s policy to reclaim overpayments of wages in these situations by deducting 10% of the individual’s gross basic pay per pay period until the overpayment is fully recovered. This will be a last resort and only applied after all reasonable efforts have been made to reach an agreement with the employee concerned. Royal Mail commits to dealing with overpayments in a reasonable and sensitive manner and with due regard for individual circumstances throughout the period of the overpayment.


4. Key Principles

4.1 In all cases of overpayments an employee’s pay record/arrangements will be amended so as to rectify the overpayment at the earliest opportunity.

4.2 In cases of bulk overpayments, i.e., where there are two or more individuals, and they have been overpaid as a result of an error emanating from the same source, these may be treated as individual cases.

4.3 In the case of overpayments of less than £25 (pro rated for part time employees), People and Organisational Services will notify the employee that the amount will be automatically deducted in the next pay (whether that be weekly or monthly).

4.4 It is agreed that all underpayments of pay will be paid in full. Where there is an overpayment and an underpayment one will be offset against the other as appropriate.

4.5 Recovery of overpayments will not take place in cases where an employee has died. In instances where the business seeks to recover the monies from an employee who has died, this will be authorised by POS, in conjunction with the RSM (Advice and Support).

4.6 In instances where an employee has left the business, Royal Mail will seek to recover any overpayment. As soon as an overpayment has been established People and Organisational Services will notify the ex-employee concerned. This notification will clearly detail the amount of the overpayment, the circumstances that have led to it, and the options available for recovering the monies that have been overpaid. Debt recovery will be used in instances where reasonable efforts have been made and failed to reach an agreement on repayment of the overpayment.

4.7 Where an employee has given advance notification of leaving the business, the business will normally recover all outstanding monies owed from the employees final pay to repay the overpayment.


4.8 In instances where a casual employee is overpaid, People and Organisational Services will notify the employee concerned. This notification will clearly detail the amount the overpayment, the circumstances that have led to it, and the options available for recovering the monies that have been overpaid.

4.9 Overpayments identified as suspected fraud or contributory negligence will be dealt with under the terms of the appropriate national procedures.

4.10 Recovery of overpayments and the arrangements associated with the process will be applied in a timely way in order to ensure that the Business recovers the monies quickly and efficiently, and to minimise any anxiety caused to the employee.

[bluealbert]

What about SA payments? A lot of us do collections in the afternoon on SA and haven't had payment for over a year

[Postie45]

£100 a week seems excessive, it was RM error afterall...

[GRMGOLDIE]

Really am annoyed with it. I was forced out of my old duty that had a 5am start and forced back onto delivery as my old duty was given to someone who had been referred t atos. So I assumed that my dawn allowance was still being paid after I was forced out of a duty.

I cant find a wages number so I will ask in the morning. Really annoyed as its not my fault. Now I will receive less in my wages each week and also have £4,000 debt forced on me by my employer.

Thanks for the posts above regarding the 2600 of us poor buggers who this affects.

[POSTMAN]

From Facebook...

Tpm overpayments. Can they just take £300 out of your wages in one go. They have. Dozens affected. Mail centre staff might have to walk left with nothing to live on