Deducting sick leave the following year

gazzamazza

Hi,

I had been out of work last year October sometime for a week. I got a doctors note and submitted when I came back to work. We get paid for sick leave or perhaps to be more accurate un-certified sick. Anyway we are now in February 2014 and they decided today to just take that weeks sick out of my current pay. We are paid bi-weekly so this was many many pay slips ago. Last year in fact. Can they do that ? Can they just take it and tell me on the day its gone ? Im pretty annoyed it was their error made last year and they have just fixed the issue without even telling me prior. ( i know my payslip states the deduction but its the notice im annoyed at) Any advice would be good as this is the latest in a string of issues.

Thanks

smcgiff

gazzamazza wrote: »

Hi,

I had been out of work last year October sometime for a week. I got a doctors note and submitted when I came back to work. We get paid for sick leave or perhaps to be more accurate un-certified sick. Anyway we are now in February 2014 and they decided today to just take that weeks sick out of my current pay. We are paid bi-weekly so this was many many pay slips ago. Last year in fact. Can they do that ? Can they just take it and tell me on the day its gone ? Im pretty annoyed it was their error made last year and they have just fixed the issue without even telling me prior. ( i know my payslip states the deduction but its the notice im annoyed at) Any advice would be good as this is the latest in a string of issues.

Thanks

Did you point it out to them when you were over paid last year? What is the company policy re sick pay?

Stheno

So you don't get paid for sick leave if it's certified?

Did you claim illness benefit for the week (You'd only have gotten two/three days of that in fairness)

What it boils down to is that you were over paid and the company failed to take that back in the relevant pay period, and once they noticed they then took it which they can do.

The issue here is that they did not inform you of their taking it which is where your grievance lies imo

gazzamazza

I havent claimed any benefits or sick pay. I never have and dont know how to. The HR person just said go to the social welfare and they will sort it out. Anyway thats a seperate journey if i choose to take it. (will they accept my claim after so long ?)


I didn't get overpaid. I got exactly the same amount I have gotten every week for the past number of years. the company pays us for sick leave. Its never been an issue before so I didn't expect one this time. My grievance is they stung me a year after the mistake was made. HR is severely understaffed and i know this was an error by them. The section in my payslip stated Allowances (title of the section) under it was the figure and the letters CR. I hadn't a clue what this was. I spent the morning ringing and emailing them to get an answer. CR usually means credit and allowance usually means the same thing but this was clearly a deduction when you did the maths

My question is can they fix an error a year after its made ? For example whenever they bloody feel like it or do we have some rule/law that protects us from such mistakes when the company is clearly at fault.

Stheno

gazzamazza wrote: »

I havent claimed any benefits or sick pay. I never have and dont know how to. The HR person just said go to the social welfare and they will sort it out. Anyway thats a seperate journey if i choose to take it. (will they accept my claim after so long ?)


I didn't get overpaid. I got exactly the same amount I have gotten every week for the past number of years. the company pays us for sick leave. Its never been an issue before so I didn't expect one this time. My grievance is they stung me a year after the mistake was made. HR is severely understaffed and i know this was an error by them. The section in my payslip stated Allowances (title of the section) under it was the figure and the letters CR. I hadn't a clue what this was. I spent the morning ringing and emailing them to get an answer. CR usually means credit and allowance usually means the same thing but this was clearly a deduction when you did the maths

My question is can they fix an error a year after its made ? For example whenever they bloody feel like it or do we have some rule/law that protects us from such mistakes when the company is clearly at fault.

Too late to claim from social welfare now, it's five months not a year later.

You originally said they paid for uncertified sick leave, do they pay for all sick leave? If that's the case then they either made a mistake, or if there is a clause that you get paid for x days in total of sick pay, is it possible you exceeded it?

Mrs OBumble

What exactly was the mistake they made? I'm confused!

davo10

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What exactly was the mistake they made? I'm confused!

I think he is saying that they overpaid him last year after he was sick, he didn't tell them, they have now rectified that and he is p****d off.

OP are you certain they pay during sick leave? This would be very unusual, you will need to check your employment contract, this should be clearly stated in it.

Stheno

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

What exactly was the mistake they made? I'm confused!

From OPs second post, seems they get paid for all sick leave, contrary to first post.

After he/she had a weeks sick leave in Oct, that has now been deducted from their salary as an over payment. The company did not preadvise of this

Now I think there are a couple of reasons for this:

1. In 2013 rules about taxation of social welfare illness benefit changed and it counts as taxable income and the employer is liable to include it, if they know/believe it was claimed, so that may be an assumption the employer has made.
2. The employer has changed sick pay policy and OP does not know it.
3. The employer has made a mistake.

No way to tell unless OP comes back and says.

OP was the deduction for less then €188