Overpaid employee must repay more than $8,000

An overpaid employee at a metal supplier in Auckland has been ordered to repay more than $8,000 after he left his employer without continuing repayment.

Tupu Suisala was overpaid in the gross amount of $9,000 by his employer Specialty Metals Limited between November 2013 and October 2022.

Specialty Metals attributed the overpayment to a software error and entered into an agreement with Suisala where it would deduct $100 to his weekly payment to reimburse the overpayment.

Suisala, however, left the organisation in October 2022 without continuing to reimburse the remaining overpayment as they initially agreed in the case of his departure.

Specialty Metals then reached out to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to resolve the dispute, as their former employee still has over $6,000 to repay to his employer.

ERA steps in at overpayment dispute

At the ERA, Suisala offered to repay the owed amount through a weekly instalment of $100 a week starting May 13, a deal that Specialty Metals agreed on.

But the ERA also ruled that Suisala pay $312.32 as interest, as well as $1,796.55 for costs and disbursement.

Overall, the employee will pay the total sum of $8,483.34 through a weekly instalment of $100.

"Failure to pay a weekly instalment of $100 will result in the balance becoming due and owing," the ERA said.