Overpaid salaries are a common mistakes at large companies, yet they should always be considered. If one of your employees or a previous employee owes money to your business due to overpaid salary, you deserve to be compensated. After all, you can’t afford to lose income due to a simple human error or system glitch.
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Why You Deserve Compensation
Even if an overpayment occurred out of no fault of that employee holding your money, they do not have the right to keep it. After all, if you cannot recover money that you paid out accidentally, you could soon be in the position of owing money to your business partners.
Instead of letting the issue go unquestioned, you need to take immediate action with the help of a debt collection agency. You’ll also want to be sure you’re covering every step you can take to recover overpaid salary before turning the issue over to a professional team. So here are a few steps you can take on your own:
Identify the Overpayment
The more information you have regarding the exact payment amounts, the better it will help your collection agency recover your money. Ensure that your accountants review the history of your payroll to identify whether you have accounted for the full amount or not. After all, the error may have occurred over a long period.
Attempt to Contact the Delinquent in Question
Contacting an employee who owes money to your company is a delicate situation, so you’ll want to approach the task as congenially as possible. While informing your employee about the situation is okay, you should not make any demands on them now. Above all, refrain from any conversation that leads to hostility.
If you are angered, anxious or upset in any way, refrain from contacting your employee at this time. Instead, allow your collection agency to contact them in a professional and respectful manner later. Remember that any sign of harassment or intimidation on your part could be against the law regarding collections and jeopardize your ability to collect your money.
Contact an Ethical Collection Agency
For any company owner or manager that cares about treating people with dignity and respect – not to mention the reputation of your business – you should make every effort to find a collection agency that upholds a mandate for ethical collection strategies.
In a situation where an employee was overpaid, there is little reason to believe that the person in question has intended to act maliciously toward your company, even if they no longer have the financial ability to pay you immediately. Additionally, every person deserves to be treated with respect at all times.
Ethical collection agencies understand that proper conduct towards other people isn’t just the right thing to do; it can also help in the debt recovery process. No one wants to cooperate with someone that is threatening or harassing them, but most debtors are eager to work with a collection agent who has a plan for debt resolution.
If you suspect or have found a situation where one of your employees was overcompensated, contact a debt collector in your area immediately.
