Recover Overpaid Wages. Legally. Quickly.

We help UK employers reclaim payroll overpayments – even if the mistake was yours.  No awkward conversations.  No legal guesswork.

Your Employee Was Overpaid. Now What?

Payroll errors happen. An extra zero, a miscalculated bonus, a system glitch – suddenly you’ve overpaid employees.

The good news? You’re legally entitled to recover overpaid wages, even if it was your mistake.

The bad news? Asking for money back is awkward. Employees resist. Things get messy; particularly if the individual has now left your employment.

That’s where we come in.

We handle the entire recovery process:

– Contact the ex-employee on your behalf
– Explain their legal obligation to repay
– Negotiate realistic payment plans (where needed)
– Prepare County Court proceedings if needed
– Keep everything professional and documented

Why Use Payroll Debt UK?

You could chase this yourself. But here’s why businesses choose us:

• We know payroll law – 20 years of debt collection plus payroll expertise
• We remove the awkwardness – No uncomfortable conversations with current or former staff
• We prioritise payment plans – Court action is our last resort, not our first
• We’re payroll experts – Trusted and professional (our Director is a CIPP Fellow)
• We get results – Most employees repay when approached correctly

Employers have the legal right to recover any overpayment of wages, both during employment and after it has ended. However, if the employee no longer works for the employer, the employer cannot make a direct deduction from the employee’s pay to recover the overpayment. This makes it more difficult to recover the debt. In such cases, the employer may turn to Payroll Debt UK for assistance.

Once instructed, all communication with the debtor (the ex-employee) will be handled by Payroll Debt UK. Payments will be made directly to the employer, usually via bank transfer. We will keep the employer updated on the progress of the collection process and consult with them as necessary.

Even if an overpayment goes unnoticed for some time, an employer has the right to request repayment. According to the Limitation Act 1980, a legal claim based on a simple contract cannot be pursued more than six years after the cause of action occurred. In the case of an overpayment of wages, the cause of action arises from the contract of employment, and therefore, the six-year limitation period applies. This means that an employer cannot legally recover any overpaid wages that date back more than six years.

Employers can use Payroll Debt UK on a one-off basis, often after their own efforts to recover the debt have been exhausted, or if the decision has been made that it is more cost-effective to use an external debt collector.