If the employer accidentally transfers more salary, the employee is obliged to pay it back. However, there are some exceptions.
A small accounting error – and suddenly you have more salary in your account. What may seem like an unexpected windfall can have serious consequences. If you notice that your salary is too high, you must inform your employer about it. If you don't do this, you are violating your duty of loyalty, explains the
professional journal
. This can result in a warning or, in the worst case, termination without notice. The employee is almost always obliged to pay the money back. However, there are few exceptions.
Employee must return overpaid salary
An employment contract gives rise to rights and obligations for both parties, explains the
professional journal
. Just as employees can take action against their employer if the employer pays too little, employers also have the right to demand back overpaid wages. This also results from Section 812 of the Civil Code, explains Die
Zeit:
If someone receives something wrongly, they must return it. If the employer accidentally pays out more salary, the employee must pay this amount back.
As a rule, the excess salary is paid back in the form of a transfer or offset against the next salary. Because the employee must not suffer any financial disadvantage as a result of his employer's mistake, it is common practice for the overpaid net wage and not the gross wage to be reimbursed. The employer must take care of reclaiming the taxes and social security contributions from the relevant authorities, writes the
professional journal
.
When the employee can keep the money
However, in some cases the employee is entitled to keep the overpaid money. If the employer knows when the payment order is made that he is paying too much salary, the employee does not have to pay it back, the
Pöppel lawyers
inform . This can be the case, for example, if the employer pays a weekend bonus even though he knows that the employee did not work on the weekend in this accounting period. Even if a person working part-time is paid the salary of a full-time position, the employer knows that the amount is too high.
However, these exceptions do not apply if the salary is transferred by an external body or an accountant, emphasizes the
professional journal
. The employer then has no knowledge of the amount of the salary paid.
The time period for the reclaim is also important, explains
Zeit
. If an employer only becomes aware of the overpayment after a long period of time and the employee has already spent the money, the employer can plead for deprivation of wealth. However, this regulation does not always apply. If the employee went on a trip using vacation pay even though the amount was accidentally too high, it is difficult for the employer to claim the amount back. However, if the employee gains financial advantages, for example buys an expensive television or pays off debts, he enriches himself and has to repay the sum.
Things also become difficult for the employer when it comes to exclusion periods or expiry periods, which are part of some employment contracts. Here, employers often have no chance of reclaiming money if the matter happened a few months ago, the
Pöppel lawyers
inform . However, the exceptions only provide guidance; in practice, this is always a case-by-case decision. And even if one of the exceptions applies and you might be able to keep the excess salary, you should consider whether withholding the amount will not have a lasting negative impact on your relationship with the employer, advises the
professional journal
.