Legally required to remit what an ex employer neglected to deduct?

In jan 2005 i was told my employer of that i would be changed to monthly pay and applied for an advance of salary to cover the transition. In Feb 2005 i was told i was to be made redundant, and papers outlining final (reasonably generous)settlement were forwarded. I left the company in May 2006 with a handshake





The company wrote to me in Feb 2006 saying theye had forgotten to deduct the transition loan from my final payment and would i pop it in an envelope for them. Problem is that after carefully counting my funds, looking into grants etc, i have now embarked on a social work degree and paying 拢899 is not an option. Am I legally obliged to pay what they negelected to deduct whilst i was in employment?|||As I understand it you are.....whether they would actually go to the trouble of taking you to court to extract it is a different matter. We've never bothered with that sort of thing at the place I work. It's too much hassle and can end up as bad publicity.





Say to them that you assumed it was part of the compensation package and that they didn't make it clear to you that it wasn't and that it would have to be paid back.





It is a long time after the event so you might be on not too bad a ground|||If it was identified in papers as a loan you are required to repay it.





Try calling the HR department for your previous company and asking if they would be willing to work out an installment plan to pay off the loan. Usually companies are willing to work with you on a solution if you show that them that you want to get it taken care of.|||A lot depends on whether you signed an agreement for the loan.


You could write and tell them that you can't afford to pay it (and tell them why) and see what reaction you get or, alternatively, just ignore their letter and see what happens. It may be that, if they don't feel that they have a proper claim, they will just let it go and write it off.|||I wouldnt! Let them keep chasing...they will no doubt give up eventually! Return any further letters unopened marked "Gone Away"!|||Put the onus on them to collect this debt. Just ignore it for now. Employees come and go and eventually, it might just fall through the cracks.|||There is an equitable principle that goes: "no person shall be unjustly enriched at the expense of another". In short, you have to give back what is not yours, because somebody else will be prejudiced thereby. In your case, whether you look at it as a "forgotten transaction" or not, the fact remains that you are in fact indebted to them in the sum of the loan. You have to pay it back unless the statute of limitations for recovering the same has elapsed. I doubt if it has in such a short period of time. Long story short: pay it back. If they sue you for it, then you may see the sum due bloat because of interest, penalties and all that.