An unexpected supplement… which must be returned.
Employees in the city of Zurich (northern Switzerland) were paid double their salary in February following a computer error, with many taking the incident with humor even though they will have to repay the overpayment.
Some 30,000 employees were paid twice "Monday morning due to a technical error", indicates a press release from the finance department of the city of Zurich, the amount overpaid amounting to 175 million Swiss francs (183 million euros).
Software error
The bank that handles payments for city employees has apologized.
Employees, however, have the obligation to reimburse the amount overpaid, underlines the press release.
The error comes from the software of a Swisscom supplier, which is in the process of “conducting an investigation”, indicated for its part the telecoms operator.
“Many employees took it with humor,” Claudia Naegeli, the city’s communications manager, explained Tuesday.
Some asked if this was “a pilot project for a fourteenth month salary”.
Others wrote to the bank, saying: “Thank you.
Do it again, please,” she cited as an example.
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The bank is currently seeking a solution with the city so that the reimbursement can be made as simply as possible, details the press release.