Today, my boss asked me to talk to the HR manager to see if I was happy about my pay, which made me think I was going to get a raise. Turns out they paid me nearly twice as much as they should have for the last 2 years and I owe them over €5000. FML
Collection
Fall
Dead leaves, the first cold of the season and an umbrella flipped inside out: fall, the season of grace.
Today, my boss finally worked out that by not giving the lads a pay rise to £18 an hour, instead just offering them overtime when necessary, it actually cost the equivalent of raising each employees salary to £26 an hour, for a whole year. He’s is blaming me because I issue the pay checks. FML
Today, my coworker got a raise by making our boss give me a pay cut for doing his job while he was slacking off. As we were heading home for the day, he found $100. FML
Today, I got a raise at work. It will bring my hourly wage to about a cent more per hour. Our CEO just reported record-breaking profits for the year. FML
Today, I was notified that the company did not give me a raise two months ago like I thought. The increase was a typo. Two months ago I wrote a thank you for the raise email to my boss. Now I get to write a check to the company to pay back my "raise." FML
Today, after working 85 hours in a single week, I finally got my paycheck. $500. Apparently I got a pay cut without anyone telling me. FML
Today, I was promoted. After going to school for 10 months to get certified for the new position, training extensively, and taking on a ton more responsibility, I was hoping for a decent raise. How much do my bosses think all of that time and effort is worth? One dollar more per hour than I made before. FML
Today, after working for the same company for over 20 years, someone from upper management told me they’d accidentally been overpaying me all these years, not a huge issue, but would I mind giving the money back in one lump sum by the end of the month? UM, WHAT? FML
Today, I got raise at work. It's $3 per month. FML
Today, the person recently hired to work in my spot during my days off started at a higher hourly rate than me, after I have been here for nearly three years. I asked for a raise and got a dollar more; meanwhile, my regional counterparts make 4 dollars more per hour. FML
Today, I got a lot of tips at work, but little did I know our boss takes it out of our paychecks. FML
Feel like sharing it with the other FML users?
Thanks, your FML was submitted, and will appear in the moderation queue soon!
Top comments
ScarletteEve 33
Good thing that's not legal!
RichardPencil 32
You work for 5000 euros a year? And they thought you should be making 2500 euros per year? That’s very little money. Do you only work a few hours a week?
Add a comment · Reply to
You must be logged in to be able to post comments!
Comments (27)
ScarletteEve 33
Good thing that's not legal!
real life problems 26
Not legal? I was paid more than I should have at two different big companies and each time I had to pay it back
Sinshine 28
I think in most countries that depends on whether it's in your context or they just accidentally paid you too much. If it's in the contract, that has to be legally binding. If it's not, it should be clear that's a mistake and you can't just decide to keep it.
ScarletteEve 33
Well the post doesn't specify if the OP was overpaid by a clerical mistake or if they simply have a higher wage than they should. I've experienced the latter so I was referring to that, but if their wage x hours doesn't match their pay, then they legally have to pay it back, yes.
ChakatBlackstar 29
Well, having a mother in HR who once dealt with this type of issue I know for a fact that in the US it's legal. I don't know where this guy is located given he specified euros, but I'd be surprised if this wasn't the case there too as most companies double check this stuff with their legal department first. Though usually they will work out a deal if you can't pay it back, such as taking a pay reduction for a period of time until the reduction compensates them for the lost money or some sort of installment plan.
Warmonger_Smurf 29
I know in the US military they can take back over payment. I’ve had some of my soldiers get a $12 paycheck before.
Summaria 10
In Germany it depends on the case. For example if the boss accidentally pays a part time employee with the salary of a full time employee the employee doesn't have to pay it back. If it's an external service paying the employees or the accounting department then the boss himself can demand the money back because he didn't have access to the payments himself. But there's also a limit on how much the company can demand back. That is if this has been going on for a while and when the employee already spent the money. Because it hasn't been the mistake of the employee the company can only demand the most recent payments back. (For a few months at most, definitely not for 2 whole years)
Matt Haagensen 11
They can’t legally force them, just because they regret paying them that much, but they can fire them if they don’t want to pay
RichardPencil 32
You work for 5000 euros a year? And they thought you should be making 2500 euros per year? That’s very little money. Do you only work a few hours a week?
IMSCARJOHANSSON 24
I’m sorry but are you okay? He has been making double than what he should have for 2 years, and over time it has accumulated to an extra 5,000 euros, which the company is illegally forcing him to give back.
bl3ur0z3 17
Richard's math is dead on. I'll break it down for you like I would for my 5yo. This guy has to pay back €5,000. Which is the amount he's been overpaid the past two years because he's been paid double what he should have. This means he should have been paid half what he was. He was paid about €10,000 over two years. €5,000 was correct and €5,000 was an overpayment. This works out to him being paid €5,000/yr but he should have only been paid €2,500/yr.
RichardPencil 32
What’s the problem? The company says he owes them over 5000 euros, meaning they overpaid 2500 a year. This overpayment represents “nearly twice” what they thought they were paying. Thus, they thought they paying 2500 a year, but actually paying 5000. Clear, now?
FishyFishy 12
Well, say goodbye to food, a home, and whatever else's you have!
distortedcognition 17
They’re demanding repayment? Do you work for the mafia?
bl3ur0z3 17
So you were supposed to make €5,000 the past two years, made €10,000 and now have to repay €5,000? Quit now and let them take you to court.
LeoCor 19
If it’s 2 years, that means half the total is one year. That means OP made 2500 over pay, since it’s double it means they made 5000 every year.
ChakatBlackstar 29
How did you get paid twice as much as you were supposed to and NOT notice it?
blightsight 10
Probably did and didn't say anything because, hey, it's more money. Would you tell your employer you're making too much?
ChakatBlackstar 29
A dollar or two, probably not, but if it was double what I'd been getting, I'd double check.
charliewhippet 9
I was overpaid for a year in a job (I just thought, oh that's cool, the actual hourly rate is slightly higher than they told me in the interview) and they told me I didn't have tp pay it back bceause it wasn't my responsibilty - they're the ones who made the mistake. Just FYI.
chessu 21
So where I work (in the UK), my contract does say that if I feel like I've been overpaid, it is my responsibility to notify them and would probably owe them if I didn't. However, I feel like in this case based on the phrasing, the OP didn't know their rate was half less what they thought/the company agreed on a higher salary and are now going back on it or something which surely shouldn't be allowed?
A Frenchy in Eire 31
There is no way this is legal. Don't let them get away with this.
Davros 12
2500 Euros a year? Are you a part time greeter at Le-Walmart?