Community › Forums › Legal Advice India › Company Paid Ex-Employee by Mistake, Now Wants Repayment – What Legal Action Can Be Taken?
- This topic has 30 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 4 months ago by
Desishashwat2199.
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UUser_debffbfa
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 6:36 pmMy friend’s company mistakenly paid an ex-employee for 8 or 9 months after he left, due to a payroll error. The amount is between INR 80,000 and 1,00,000. The company is asking the ex-employee to return the money, but they are not asking for the PF, ESI, or other contributions. The ex-employee claims his father is in debt, so he is unable to repay the amount immediately.The company has agreed to let him repay in 6 monthly installments, but they want him to sign an agreement and issue a post-dated cheque, which would only be cashed if he defaults on repayment. The agreement also mentions consequences under the Negotiable Instruments Act if the cheque bounces. The ex-employee is hesitant to sign this agreement, feeling it is too legal, but the company is willing to remove the fixed dates for payment, requiring only fixed monthly amounts.
I want to help my friend as much as i can.
My questions are:
1) What legal actions can the company take if the ex-employee refuses to sign the agreement or defaults on repayment?
2) Is the ex-employee legally obligated to repay the amount, even though it was a payroll mistake?
3) Can the company still charge him legally or recover the money without a signed agreement from the ex-employee?
Any legal insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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UUser_819646df
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 6:42 pmAre you that Ex exmployee before employer had asked him legally per your post-
UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 17, 2025 at 6:47 pmNo no, i am friend of the director of the company, The company is new and i want to help my friend in recovering the amount, hence the above questions-
DDesihero8292
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 7:01 pmWhat they can do?1. File a recovery suit against him.
2. If it is a small firm, they will not mind playing dirty and may even involve local police.
3. They can screw up background verification against him.-
QQuickaditi8357
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 7:40 amYou can’t recover, if the employees files for fraud activity’s your friend company will screw up big time .
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UUser_819646df
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 11:04 pmJust talk to the guy and if he not paying having money go after him legally but otherwise if he really does not have money it’s waste
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UUser_fbef45bb
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 6:48 pmWhy don’t you just say it’s you who is the ex employee.-
UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 17, 2025 at 6:53 pmPlease read my reply to a comment similar to this -
CCoolsatyendra89
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 7:23 pmmaybe try not to read too much into things and do what the sub is for?
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DDesiprem496
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 6:59 pmWow!!Why does your friend doesn’t want to pay what doesn’t belong to her?
Free loading has become a habit in our country!!
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UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 17, 2025 at 7:04 pmHey, maybe there’s a mistake at my end in phrasing the post properly😅 , but the thing is i wanted to know that if the ex-employee doesnt pays the company back, what legal actions can we take against him?-
PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 12:58 amThe guy needs to pay back what is not his..period..it is theft by another name..not returning what is not his. A legal notice and filing a civil recovery suit will be best recourse. .The legal notice can also mention that any feedback to new employers in future will not be positive till such time he returns the full money plus feedback to his current employer about his doubtful integrity..his story about father being in debt can not and should not be taken at face value. Agreement and PDC ..your friend is being extra nice.!-
DDesishashwat2199
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 1:54 amNope. The guy hasn’t stolen. He can say that these are dues from his work. It will take an era to fix.-
PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 4:52 amPls look up the definition of theft ..keeping what does not belong to you is ..“Whoever, intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person’s consent, moves that property in order to such taking, is said to commit theft”…
In this case did he have consent of his employer to keep the money ..NO. This guy is being dishonest from the first date when he received wrong credit..and did not have consent to keep it.. IPC Sec 378.
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DDesishashwat2199
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 4:57 amhow did the money land in his account? without consent?in this country, you cant reverse a recharge done to the wrong mobile number. And you are talking about this shit
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PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 4:59 amDont indulge in semantics..plain ad simple integrity issue…if he did not report needless Credit after quitting..he is asking for trouble..not a reliable guy for future employers.-
DDesishashwat2199
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 5:05 amwhatever the argument, that money isnt coming back legally. You may bribe people or use force to recover. Within the legal framework, he doesn’t have to return it. He can just say that my severance was discussed as 1.5L and still some money is pending. go fight it out.
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UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 18, 2025 at 6:56 amThanks for letting me know,Some people are saying that employee is not entitled to pay and the court will go in favour of the employee, it is a bit confusing,
Can you please let me know if there is a particular section which had addressed situations like this?Thank you!
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PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 7:06 amYou dont need to worry about sections..file a civil recovery suit and get it referred to mediation at the first hearing and arrive at a settlement agreement basis which he will need to payback in instalments and finally both parties can inform court that agreement terms have been adhered to and matter is closed..whereupon court will close the proceedings.
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QQuickaditi8357
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 7:42 amIt is not mistake , just to show the expenses and later take the cash, black money, seen with startups lot of them are doing like this .-
UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 18, 2025 at 8:58 amI do not get this, the company had asked the ex-employee to transfer the overpaid amount directly to the company’s bank account itself, no cash.
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DDesishashwat2199
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 1:53 amuh oh … This sir isn’t limited to Indians
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QQuickguru4523
PARTICIPANT
February 17, 2025 at 9:34 pmIt has been decided by the courts that an employee cannot be forced to return salary(full or in part) which has been paid in excess to him by mistake by an employer -
PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 12:42 amYour friend has to repay the company..period. what is not his ..amounts to theft..by keeping quiet his integrity has come under cloud..a person of good values would have notified the company and returned this windfall ..his ex employer is being nice to him..if he tries to act smart they may even go to police !-
UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 18, 2025 at 6:37 amHey, seems like i had not phrased the og post properly, i have edited it now.
Actually my friend is director of the company and i wanna help him recover the amount from the ex- employee-
PPrimeowl5754
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 6:38 amSend a legal notice..file a civil suit for recovery and opt for court annexed mediation in the first hearing.. it will get over fast.
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DDesishashwat2199
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 1:57 amIf you had a payroll error, that’s your mistake. Learn it the hard way.Ask the person to keep a certain % and return the rest
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DDesipanda1506
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 2:51 amPersonal advice :You are in a bit of soup. Courts tend to agree with the employee mostly.
Below points noted by Honorable Supreme Court in Col B J Akkara Vs Union Of India
(a) The excess payment was not made on account of any misrepresentation or fraud on the part of the employee.
(b) Such excess payment was made by the employer by applying a wrong principle for calculating the pay/allowance or on the basis of a particular interpretation of rule/order, which is subsequently found to be erroneous.Even if you look at other cases like Sanjay Sharma Vs State of Punjab and others , Sahib Ram Vs State of Haryana
Etc all these cases point out that courts are lenient and will side towards employee if employee has not done fraudulently .
If your employee is willing to pay it in installments so be it . You can take it. If you force this and employee gets a representation then the money gets stuck.
You cannot start recovery proceedings in this case.
Best case negotiate without forcing signatures .
Rest you can always get a lawyer who can guide you in detail.
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UUser_0edffc57
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 5:31 amI think you are that ex-employee lmao. There’s no friend-
UUser_debffbfa
OP
February 18, 2025 at 6:52 amI have edited the post, please check
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DDesishark6045
PARTICIPANT
February 18, 2025 at 5:33 amIts legally called unjust enrichment. There are several laws against it under Indian contract act. Please see a lawyer.“It is a general equitable principle that a person should not profit at another’s expense and therefore should make restitution for the reasonable value of any property, services, or other benefits that have been unfairly received and retained”
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