QLD Accidental Payments - Should I Pay It Back?

[May24]

Long story short, my former employer and I had a falling out. He wasn't paying me for all my hours. I worked and it wasn't a good environment, so I quit. I was a casual and it was a small business so no notice needed.

I thought that was that but I received my usual pay in my bank account at the end of the week. I assume he has a direct debit set up and it was automatically deducted but have received no calls or emails from him about it.

He did owe me around $300 for unpaid hours but this payment was $220 extra. I'm not a bad person and I would never steal anything but what should I do here to stay on the right side of the law?

Do I pay it all back and try and get my money back through Fair Work Australia? (Even though that might never happen) Do I leave it? Could he pursue legal action against me?

I'm hoping this is the right forum for this question. I just need some help or someone to point me in the right direction.

Thank you.

 

[Lance]

Hi,

It's your call. To be honest Fair Work Australia are fairly toothless from what others have recently posted. The result of talking to them is likely mediation that has no enforceability. I would personally put the $220 in an envelope and wait to see if he tries to get it off you.

If he goes through small claims court you can counter claim for the $300 and offer up the $220.

I guess the real question is if you have proof of the time owed then you could reasonably assume your employer paid you at least some of the payment. You could ask for a breakdown of payment but that might raise the alarm if you don't intend on paying it back.

 

[Rod]

It is possible it is back pay. Maybe he found out he was underpaying you. Check your last payslip.

 

[May24]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies.

It's definitely not back-pay or what he owed because he's not the kind of person to pay that back freely. The amount was the same as my last 2 payslips as I was working the same hours.

Unfortunately the only proof of the amount owed I have is my own times written down in my planner. I had been entering them on quickbooks but he went in and changed the hours so it looked like I worked 10hrs less a week. Very dodgy and 90% of why I left.

I think for now it might be best to leave it alone and wait for him to contact me about it. Might call legal aid on Monday and see what they say as well.

Like I said before, I'd never steal from someone so hopefully I can just keep what I'm owed.

Really appreciate the advice and if anyone else has pointers for me, I'm all ears.

Cheers.