Salary Overpayment Policy

Transcription

1 Chief Constable of Dyfed Powys Salary Overpayment Policy Version 2 1

2 VERSION CONTROL Version Date Author Reason for Change 2 27/03/14 Diane Jones Chief Financial Officer changed to Director of Finance/CFO and suitability for publication section completed. 1 14/11/13 Diane Jones Transfer of policy to new force template EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT Section 4 of the Equality Act 2010 sets out the protected characteristics that qualify for protection under the Act as follows: Age; Disability; Gender Reassignment; Marriage and Civil Partnership; Pregnancy and Maternity; Race; Religion or Belief; Sex; Sexual Orientation. The public sector equality duty places a proactive legal requirement on public bodies to have regard, in the exercise of their functions, to the need to: - eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation, and any other conduct that is unlawful under the Act; - advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; - foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it. The equality duty applies to all protected characteristics with the exception of Marriage and Civil Partnership, to which only the duty to have regard to the need to eliminate discrimination applies. Carrying out an equality impact assessment involves systematically assessing the likely or actual effects of policies on people in respect of all the protected characteristics set out above. An equality impact assessment should be carried out on any policy that is relevant to the public sector equality duty. An equality impact assessment has been completed on this policy, click here. HUMAN RIGHTS ACT CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE This policy has been drafted in accordance with the Human Rights Act and has been reviewed on the basis of its content and the supporting evidence and it is deemed compliant with that Act and the principles underpinning it. Name: Department: Signed: R Jones, Senior Solicitor Legal Services Department R Jones 2

3 Freedom of Information Act 2000 Section 19 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 places a requirement upon the Force to publish all policies on the Force website. Policies are why we do things and procedures are how we do them. A case-by-case review of procedures must be undertaken to protect law enforcement and health and safety considerations. Where a combined policy and procedure document is being produced the Force is legally required to publish the policy section and assess the procedure part to ensure no sensitive information is published. There is a requirement therefore to review this document to establish its suitability for publication. Please identify below whether the document is suitable for publication in its entirety or not. Where it is believed that disclosure will be harmful please articulate the harm that publication would cause and highlight the relevant sections within the document. Where it is perceived that there is harm in disclosure the document should be forwarded to the FOI Unit for review. Suitability for publication Suitability for publication Yes/No Date Signature Yes 27 th March 2014 Diane Jones publication in its entirety publication in part, I have identified those sections which I believe are not suitable for disclosure and have articulated below the harm which would be caused by publication. Harm in publication Yes 27 th March 2014 Diane Jones Diane Jones None FOI review to be completed by FOI Unit Suitability for publication Yes/No Date FOI Decision Maker publication in its entirety disclosure in part and relevant redactions have been applied. A public facing version has been created. Once review has been undertaken FOI decision maker to return document to policy author and following sign off document to be published within Force Publication Scheme. Any future changes to the document should be brought to the attention of the FOI Unit, as appropriate. 3

4 Salary Overpayment Policy 1. POLICY STATEMENT 1.1. It is the policy of Dyfed Powys Police to pursue repayment of overpayments of salary. Throughout this document the term salary is deemed to include allowances, overtime payments and expenses In accordance with the Employment Rights Act 1996 a deduction from salary can be made by the employer in relation to the overpayment of salary incurred by the police officer or member of police staff in carrying out their duties, as the law excludes overpayment of salary or employment-related expenses as being unlawful deductions Dyfed Powys Police will take into account the circumstances surrounding the overpayment and seek to agree appropriate repayment terms to minimise hardship for the individual. 2. POLICY AIM 2.1. To set the policy for the recovery of salary overpayments ensuring that all officers and staff are treated equally and with consistency where an overpayment has been made to an individual. 3. APPLICABILITY 3.1. This policy applies to all police officers and police staff in Dyfed Powys Police. It is the responsibility of each individual police officer and member of police staff to check their payslips for accuracy and raise any queries with the finance department. 4. RECOVERY POLICY 4.1. The organisation needs to have systems in place to pursue overpayments of salary. Dyfed Powys Police endeavours to pay officers and staff correctly for work undertaken, but if overpaid, a clear process needs to be followed to reclaim monies in accordance with the Employment Rights Act i. Dyfed Powys Police are a publicly funded organisation and have an obligation to recover payments to staff to which they are not entitled. ii. Where an overpayment of salary, allowances or expenses is made to a Police Officer or member of Police Staff, the organisation will endeavour to recover the overpayment at the earliest opportunity. iii. Where the overpayment arises as a result of late notification of changed circumstances results in a processing deadline being missed, regardless of whether it is the employee s or employer s fault the overpayment will be automatically deducted in full from the next salary or expense payment. The employee will be notified of the recovery of the overpayment. iv. Where the overpayment relates to a period of more than one month the employee will be notified in writing of the situation and the amount of the overpayment. Future salary, allowances or expense payments will be amended at the first opportunity. The employee will be requested to make their proposals in writing to repay the overpayment. v. If an employee fails to provide written representations within one month from being notified that an overpayment has been made it will be recovered in accordance with the procedures set out in 10 (a) and (b) below. 4

5 vi. vii. viii. ix. As a general rule of thumb it will be acceptable to repay the overpayment over the same period that it arose but each case will be considered on its merits, taking into account the amounts involved and the personal circumstances of the employee. An employee who feels repayment will cause undue financial hardship may make written representations requesting exemption from overpayment. Any such representations will be considered on an individual basis by the Director of Finance/CFO whose decision on whether to pursue recovery of all or part of the overpayment shall be final. The Director of Finance/CFO will consider the following in deciding whether to pursue recovery:- a. the financial circumstances of the employee and whether recovery would lead to genuine hardship b. to what extent the action or lack of action by the employee contributed to the overpayment c. the contractual position of the employee d. to what extent the employee could reasonably have known they were in receipt of an overpayment Where the Director of Finance/CFO agrees that recovery of the overpayment should be made the employee will be notified in writing of the decision and given a final opportunity to make proposals to repay the amount. x. If no proposal is received within 14 days then the following procedure will apply:- a. Where the amount is 50% or less of the employee s normal net pay, it will be deducted in full from their next salary payment b. Where the amount is more than 50% of the employee s normal net pay the Force Solicitor will issue proceedings in the small claims court to recover the amount due to the organisation. 5. RELATED POLICIES, PROTOCOLS, PRACTICES OR SERVICE AGREEMENTS 5.1. Internal: a. Financial Regulations b. Financial Control Procedures (Finance intranet site) 5.2. External a. Employment Rights Act MONITORING 6.1. The Director of Finance/CFO will provide assurance to the Chief Constable that the policy is being adhered to and monitored for its effectiveness and identified inefficiencies. 7. REVIEW 7.1. This policy will be reviewed and updated annually by the Head of Financial Governance, to ensure it remains up to date for any changes to legislation and other guidance. 5

6 8. WHO TO CONTACT ABOUT THIS POLICY Head of Financial Governance 6